Grey Goose vodka
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For other uses, see Grey Goose (disambiguation)
Grey Goose | |
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Type | Premium Vodka |
Alcohol by Volume | 40.0% |
Proof | 80 |
Manufacturer | Bacardi |
Country of Origin | France |
Introduced | 1997 in USA |
Variants | L'Orange, La Vanille, Le Citron |
Related products | Belvedere, Van Gogh, Chopin |
Grey Goose is a premium brand of vodka. It is distilled in Cognac, France from French wheat, then imported by the Sidney Frank Importing Company in New Rochelle, New York. In 1997, it quickly gained a reputation for quality and has won several prestigious awards in distilled spirit competitions. In 2004, Sidney Frank sold the manufacturing rights to Bacardi for $2.2 billion. The first French vodka, Grey Goose has some competitors as the French vodkas Nuage, Idol, and Cîroc are all now on the market. Considered as premium brands, these vodkas are sold at high prices, mostly in North America.
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[edit] Flavors
Besides the original Grey Goose, it comes in several flavored versions as well.
- Original (pictured)
- L'Orange (pictured)
- La Vanille
- Le Citron
Grey Goose's La Vanille has met only limited success in the United States market.
[edit] Corks
Grey Goose vodka is bottled with a replaceable cork rather than a screw-top cap. This is modelled after Polish vodkas, namely Chopin, Belvedere, and Evolution, as well as some Polish nalewkas.
[edit] Production and History
Unlike other vodkas with a long history, Grey Goose was tailor-made for the US market in 1997 as a brainchild of Sidney Frank, a self-made billionaire. His concept was to create a super premium vodka for his fellow Americans. He took the idea from the notion of French manufacturing having an inherent link with high perceived quality, quickly dispatching a team to Europe. As a result, Grey Goose was born.
Grey Goose uses French winter wheat from the south of Paris, distilled in a continuous still and alpine spring water that has been filtered through the limestone plateaux of the Massif Centrale. The distillation takes place in the Cognac region of France, an area already associated with quality liquors/liqueurs.
Grey Goose has recently been sold in the largest ever single brand sale for $2 billion, in cash, to Bacardi, making Frank an estimated profit of $1.6 billion. Incidentally, Frank was behind the success of Jaegermeister before launching Grey Goose, and his current projects include "Crunk" energy drink, a joint venture with hip-hop entrepreneur Lil' Jon, and a premium tequila named Corazon.
The current Global Brand Ambassador for Grey Goose Vodkas is Dimitri Lezinska from Paris.
[edit] External links
- Grey Goose website
- Consumer Perspective
- The Cocktail Creationist New York magazine, January 10, 2005.