We were lucky to catch up with Charles Grabitzky recently and have shared our conversation below.

Charles, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I have always had travel in my blood. Whether it was living abroad (Mexico, Italy & Turkey) or traveling with friends & family, it was always an important part of my life. I became interested in whiskey over 20 years ago and really enjoy tasting different expressions from all over the world. It was my love for both travel and whiskey that generated the idea of taking people on whiskey tours. I wanted to see and learn how all of these different distilleries from around the world made their whiskey unique. In 2015, I launched my first tour to Scotland. And there has been no stopping, except during the Pandemic. At that time I pivoted to opening a Whiskey Shop in Saratoga Springs, NY. I continue to take people to countries that produce whiskey including Scotland, Ireland, Japan and the US (Kentucky). The combination of owning a shop and fulfilling my need for travel with the Whiskey Tours provides me the best of both worlds.

Charles, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Both of my businesses, Rascal + Thorn and First Fill Spirits, offer my clients an experience. Whether it is going to another country with Rascal + Thorn to visit distilleries, or coming into my shop, First Fill Spirits, to learn about different types of Whiskey, it is all about the experience. I was fortunate to have a long career in Healthcare that gave me the ability to try some new businesses on the side. It took some time, but with patience and determination, my travel company Rascal + Thorn grew and I was eventually able to move away from Healthcare and focus on this new business that I loved. When the Pandemic hit in 2020, I had to re-evaluate as travel was not possible then. It was at this time that the idea for a Whiskey Shop called First Fill Spirits was started. At the current time, both businesses are at full steam. For myself, seeing the excitement and pleasure of a guest on one of my trips makes this all so worthwhile for me. Travel is special and everyone learns so much about the world and themselves.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I actually have business partners in both of my businesses. I met Dr. John Sconzo, my business partner at Rascal + Thorn, in Saratoga Springs, NY, many years ago in a Slow Food Chapter. Later on I saw he was taking people to Spain on Food Tours. It was a natural thing for me to approach him and see if we could work together on our tours. We now offer both Food and Whiskey Tours through Rascal + Thorn and Guest Chef Dinners where we bring in rising superstar chefs from around the world to Upstate New York for special pop-up events.
Holly Seidewand, my business partner with First Fill Spirits, was a good whiskey friend for many years. In fact, she has also co-led two of my Rascal + Thorn tours (one to Kentucky and one to Scotland). During the pandemic, she approached me on a hike in the Adirondacks about opening a Whiskey Shop. This is where First Fill Spirits began!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for both Rascal + Thorn and First Fill Spirits is word of mouth. We have used many forms of Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.) and they are great too, but for us – since we are providing an experience – word of mouth is still the best. We are very integrated in the local community here in Saratoga Springs, NY. We participate in a lot of events and fundraisers, meeting new people every week. We also do have a strong online presence and sell both the tours and bottles online. But when people come back from one of our tours, word spreads to their friends and families pretty quickly which leads to new clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rascalandthorn.com www.firstfillspirits.com
• Instagram: @whiskey_traveling @rascalandthorn @first.fill.spirits
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rascalandthorn https://www.facebook.com/firstfillspirits/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-grabitzky-5b480/

Image Credits
These are all my photos