Russell Fletcher has that whole turning-lemons-into-lemonade thing down pat. But for him, wine and vodka might be better stand-ins for the proverbial fruit and beverage, respectively. And we’re not talking about a figurative transformation—he really did turn wine into vodka, as part of a reinvention plan that has made him the first Black distillery owner in Pennsylvania.
Initially, Fletcher’s career was firmly outside the realm of booze-making. The Brooklyn native spent the late 1990s and early 2000s running an online multimedia company and working in promotions with some big-name clients in the music and touring industry, like Jay-Z and Wu-Tang Clan. But he had an itch to try something different. He moved to Allentown with his wife, Tetyana, about 12 years ago. His mother had just purchased a building in Lansford, Carbon County, and Fletcher had plans to open a winery in one of the vacant storefronts on the ground floor. He says he was excited to dig into a new project in a new place. “You could see the opportunity. I knew that this was where we needed to be,” he says.
Fletcher dedicated himself to learning the ancient craft of winemaking, with the benefit of all the assistance that modern-day technology affords. He pored over instructional videos on YouTube and read everything he could get his hands on about the process. He also consulted with others who were in the know. But Fletcher admits, there was a lot of trial and error in those early days. “It took so much patience to curate something that was palatable,” he says. “[There were] tons of bad batches. Refrigerator and refrigerator full of bad grape juice.”
Eventually Fletcher did get it right, and then some: His wines won multiple amateur gold medals, leading to the creation of his This Life Forever brand—the name is taken from the title of a Jay-Z song that he likes. Unfortunately, his burgeoning skills were not enough to sustain the winery in Lansford. “It never really took off from a financial standpoint,” Fletcher explains. “Our margins were very thin. We kept getting squeezed, price-wise.” And initially he was, as he describes it, burning the candle at both ends—still working in promotions while trying to get his winery off the ground. He feared he was falling behind in his efforts to cultivate both businesses. “In order to stay on top of things, you have to stay ahead of things,” Fletcher says.
A breaking point came in 2011 when he was trying to meet the demands of a client he was working with on the promotions side, while planning an event involving the winery at the same time. He had to make a decision. “I said, ‘Alright, let’s kill the New York situation and see if I can make the Pennsylvania situation happen full-time.’” Within three months, Fletcher had closed down the office for his multimedia company on Staten Island.
But, with the writing on the wall for the winery in Lansford, it was time for a new venture for the vintner. “I thought, if I can get the proofing up, I can create a spirit,” Fletcher says. His wife’s family dabbled in vodka-making, so it seemed only natural to go in that direction.
Again, just like with his first foray into oenology, he surrounded himself with a plethora of information about apt technique. He also took road trips to see the process in person, including one excursion to North Carolina where he saw moonshine being made. He knew the end goal was opening a distillery in Allentown. “I just liked the vibe of it,” Fletcher says of the city. “There’s so much going on. We wanted to be a part of that.”
In the meantime, the wheels were turning and he wanted to see how his product would measure up to other brands. He entered his vodka into the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2015—perhaps a bit prematurely. “My wife kept telling me, ‘It’s not ready, it’s not ready,’” he recalls. But within a few years, his honey vodka was winning several gold and silver medals. Fletcher had picked the name Mishka for his vodka line, which also includes cranberry and plain varieties. The word “mishka” translates to “little bear” in Russian, which is a nod to Fletcher’s wife, who is Ukrainian. Disney fans might also note that it sounds awfully similar to the first part of the password to the Mickey Mouse clubhouse (there are a couple of spelling variations floating around out there), which Fletcher watched on TV as a boy, and is now on his viewing list again, as the father of a two-year-old son. Fletcher says the brand’s whimsical touch helps it to stand out on store shelves. “Everything else was so serious,” he explains. “From being in entertainment, we know alcohol doesn’t create seriousness. We wanted it to be more about a relaxed mood. We didn’t want to come across as stiff as some of our competitors.” In short? Think premium vodka at an unpretentious price.
Fletcher officially opened his distillery on North Gilmore Street in Allentown in 2019, making him the first and only Black distillery owner in the state. He notes the importance of reaching the milestone in the minority-owned-business community, but says that achievement alone does not define him or his work. “That’s cool, but at the same time, that’s never been how I’ve gotten in the door and stayed in the door,” he says. “The bigger thing is the quality of the product. Our taste is always going to win a person over. Anyone can open a distillery, but building a brand, that identifies exactly what you’re about.”
It’s the careful crafting of the spirit that Fletcher says is one of the things he enjoys most about what he does. “I love when a flavor pattern works,” he explains. “The diversity of the spirit. It can handle anything that you throw at it.” It can also stand alone as a sipping vodka, Fletcher says. Mishka vodka can be purchased locally at state liquor stores or ordered off the menu at places like The House and Barn in Emmaus, Three OAK Steakhouse in Easton and Ringers Roost in Allentown. Fletcher says he’s planning on growing his line of spirits in the near future; whiskey is on deck in 2021, along with new flavors of his signature vodka. He’s also exploring the possibility of expanding the offerings at his distillery to include food, provided he can find the right partner to help make it happen. “I don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” he says. “I like to rely on the right person.”
But, like many other business owners, Fletcher can’t make any real moves until the fog of the coronavirus pandemic lifts. He shifted production to hand sanitizer in March and was able to make several large-scale donations to local hospitals and nonprofits. “I just wanted to make sure I was giving back to the people who are doing the work outside,” he says. And reinvesting in his adopted hometown is also important to him. “We’ve deeply rooted ourselves in the Valley,” Fletcher says. “At the end of the day, I know this is where we’re staying.”
