What’s in a Name? Sometimes a Lot

The clear, glass bottle and the text adorning it catch the eye, sparking curiosity about the transparent liquid it contains. The product’s name is brief, direct, and intriguing, with an interesting backstory.  

Such is the case with ROCK’N Vodka, which is co-owned by part-time Marco Island residents Andy and Isabelle Roiniotis, with guitarist Rick Nielsen, the leader of Cheap Trick, as a major partner. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. 

Nielsen’s celebritycan be thought of as a finishing touch, accenting the origin story forthe distilled spirit, which became available on the island last month. It can be found on the shelves of ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, Joey's Pizza and Pasta House, Marco Prime Steak and Seafood Restaurant, DaVinci's Ristoranté, and The Oyster Society.  

In formulating their creation, the Roiniotises opted to stand apart from the crowd in a world of diverse recipes and myriad vodka brands.  

Cereal grains, like corn and wheat, potatoes, and even sugar beets and grapes, are the common base materials for vodka. Instead, ROCK’N Vodka’s main ingredient is sugarcane, making it one of about 50 such brands worldwide. Sugar cane varieties are viewed as having a smoother, cleaner, and slightly sweeter flavor profile than traditional vodkas.  

“When people think of sugar cane, they think of rum and it’s true - rum is made from sugar cane,” explained Andy. “However, molasses and sugar are added to rum, and it comes off the still at a different temperature. We don't add any sugar or molasses. We're just using the natural sugar cane plant to make it a very unique vodka. That's what separates us from other vodkas and from rums and what makes us, pretty much, one of the rarest types of vodkas in the world.” 

Since its late 2019 debut, non-GMO, gluten-free ROCK’N Vodka has garnered a number of awards, including Double Gold in the Masked Double Blind Taste Competition at the 2023 Proof Awards beverage competition, the Double Gold award at2022’s New York International Spirits Competition.  

The company has also been featured three times on the “Rachael Ray Show.”  

Entering the spiritsproduction business was a natural progression for the Roiniotises, whoare based in the Rockford, Illinois area, as is their company. Combined, they havedecades of entrepreneurial, marketing, and hospitality industry experience, including owning and managingfive restaurants in northwest Illinois, which they’ve sold since starting this latest venture.  

Those shared backgroundsplayed a key role in inspiring their decision to try something new. 

“Around 2017, 2018, we started having conversations about coming up with our own spirit because we had very busy bars and restaurants, and all the new brands would come to us, your Tito's (vodka) and your Fireballs (cinnamon whisky) to launch them in our bars to see how they would do,” said Andy. “My wife and I got tired of building other people's brands. She was like, ‘You know, we could come up with our own brand.’” 

In early 2019,they decided to pursue the idea. They began by taste-testing various vodka recipes before ultimately settling on 100-percentsugarcane.  

“There are very few sugarcane vodkas in the entire world, so we want it to be unique because there are a lot of vodkas on the market,” explained Andy. 

The development process was intensive, involving such tasks as conducting the necessary business research, choosing a product type, selecting a distiller, choosing what bottles to use and logo design, and fulfilling legal requirements.  

Finally, there was a series of blind taste tests pitting ROCK’N Vodka against the segment’s most popular, premium brands, all of them produced using other recipes. Staff members at the Roiniotis’ restaurants served as the judges.   

“We had 275 bartenders and waitresses, and the sugar cane vodka was winning like 99 percent of the time,” Andy said of the taste tests. “It was beating all the top brands, like Grey Goose and Ketel One and Tito's, so we knew we had something good.”  

The ROCK’N Vodka title came about toward the end of the development process as the couple searched for the rightbrand identifier for their product. In the end, inspiration sprang from the name of their hometown of Rockford and the waterway it abuts.  

“My wife and I just couldn't come up with a name,” recalled Andy. “One day, I was driving to one of my restaurants downtown, and here's the Rock River. Then I go to my second restaurant. It's called Stockyard Rock Burger Bar. And on the wall, there's wording that says,‘Rock the Yard.’Then, I'm driving home and the Michael Jackson song comes on, ‘Rock with You,’ and I'm like,this is crazy. I called my wife and I said, ‘Honey, there're just too many signs. We’ve gotto do this and she agreed. So, I called my attorney to start the trademark process. My attorney's name is Jason Rock.” 

Next came the involvement of Rockford native Rick Nielsen. He had a passing acquaintance with the Roiniotises because his daughter had bartended for the couple and his son’s bands had performed at their restaurants. Their relationship became closer after he and Andy became investors in the Hard Rock Casino Rockford, which opened in 2024.  

“We kept on crossing paths and I told my wife, ‘We just launched the vodka, and here's Rick Nielsen,” said Andy. “I'm in all these investor meetings with him. Do you think this is a sign? And she said, ‘Absolutely.’ So, I asked Rick if he wanted to be involved with ROCK’N Vodka, and he said, ‘Is it going to create jobs?” I said, ‘Absolutely,’ so he said, ‘I don't need another job, but if it creates jobs, I'm involved.’Now I can consider him one of my good friends and a business partner.” 

They even travel together on promotional junkets, which include Nielsen performing bottle-signings for the product, which is available elsewhere in Florida and in 17 other states, as well as Canada and parts of Europe.  

When the Roiniotisesvisit Marco, they plan to hold promotional events and offer drink specials on the island during the tourist season wherever ROCK’N Vodka is available. Bottle signings by Nielsen could be part of that marketing campaign.  

Investors are being sought to purchase the 500,000 shares that remain from the two million that were initially allocated by the company. “Those will be pretty much sold out by the end of the year,” said Andy. “So, there's a limited time to still invest.”  

The Roiniotis-Nielsen partnership also includes a second libation, Bella Rio Bourbon, which hit the market in October. It’s only available in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Georgia now, but it will be registered in Florida next.  

The Cheap Trick rocker won’t be the only big name associated with Bella Rio.  

“We have a very, very big celebrity that's going to be a partner in that product, as well as Rick Nielsen,” said Andy. “My wife and I can't announce that celebrity’s name yet because we're still negotiating. But he is one of the top actors in the entire world, a household name. He will be the face of bourbon, along with Rick Nielsen.” 

For more information about ROCK’N Vodka, including where it’s available and how to purchase shares, please visit rocknvodkas.com/.