Tommyrotter Distillery Builds Senior Sales Team in Northeast

BUFFALO, N.Y.— Tommyrotter Distillery, Buffalo, New York’s fast growing distiller and producer of gins, whiskeys and vodka continues the build-out of its northeast sales team.

Tommyrotter Distillery founders and operating partners, Sean Insalaco and Bobby Finan are committed to growing the business in a deliberate and meaningful way. Initial expansion focused on spreading across New York State and into Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Future expansion will focus on Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Western and Southeast Region States.

New hires include Lisa Viscusi as senior region manager of upstate New York and James Buckley as territory manager of New York Metro.

Viscusi has a successful sales and distribution management background in the spirits and wine industries. Most recently, she served as a senior region manager with Fetzer Vineyards, where she was responsible for distribution management, budgeting and sales planning and sales for four states. Earlier in her career, she held positions with Southern Wine & Spirits and Coors in direct ales, territory management and distribution management positions.

Buckley’s experience is dialed into the New York Metro market. Prior to joining the Tommyrotter team, he held a position as a brand development representative focusing on four high-volume driving brands, covering all five boroughs and Long Island for Blueprint Brands, a craft liquor distributor known for its strong on-premise relationships in the downstate market.

These personnel additions follow Tommyrotter’s 2018 hiring of John Boccino as its director of sales and Jarrod DiFranco as territory manager of New England.

John Boccino has over 20 years of experience in the wine and spirits industry. Earlier in his career, he held positions with Vision Wine & Spirits, Allied Beverage, Admiral Imports, Liquid International and William Grant & Sons in direct sales, territory management and distribution management positions. John Boccino joins Tommyrotter Distillery most recently from Wyoming Whiskey, where he served as the VP of Eastern Sales and was responsible for distribution strategy and sales for 15 states.

Prior to joining Tommyrotter, Jarrod DiFranco was a market manager for 90+ Cellars/Latitude Beverage where he was responsible for sales and account management for a majority of the Massachusetts market. Earlier in his career, he held positions with Moet Hennessy, BrownForman, Tiger Beer and Coors Brewing in marketing, distribution management, direct sales and merchandising.

Tommyrotter Distillery is currently searching for a key account representative to help service its home markets of Buffalo and Rochester, New York who will report to Lisa Viscusi, senior region manager of upstate New York.

Sean Insalaco, who is heading up sales efforts, said “we continue to expand our footprint in each state by adding experienced sales personnel who have strong customer relationships, a detailed understanding of their markets, and a proven track record in distribution management.”

About Tommyrotter

Founded by Bobby Finan and Sean Insalaco, Tommyrotter Distillery opened its doors in July 2015. Its name harkens back to the Tommyrotters’ Club, a band of rebellious artisans in the early 20th century who broke rank from the Arts and Crafts Movement to pursue their individual truths and create for creation’s sake. They sought adventure, mischief and inspiration in nature.

But this brand is more than another storied name. While the Tommyrotter tale is full of nostalgia, whimsy and rebellion, the qualities of that history are present in the distillery’s spirits. Its old-school libations – gin, vodka and whiskey–are brilliantly revamped to offer playful, unabashed and complex flavor profiles. Tommyrotter is an independent distiller of bold, rebellious spirits.

The distillery resides in a 118-year-old converted factory in Buffalo, New York’s historic hydraulic manufacturing district. With its products currently distributed in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Tommyrotter Distillery has developed a loyal regional following for its unique tasting products and striking packaging.

The young distillery holds Double Gold, Best in Show and Silver medals from the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.