| Type | Vodka |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Bacardi |
| Country of origin | France |
| Introduced | 1997 in USA |
| Alcohol by volume | 40.0% |
| Proof | 80 |
| Variants | L'Orange, Le Citron, La Poire |
| Related products | List of vodkas |
Grey Goose is a Bacardi-owned brand of premium priced vodka produced in France. It is distilled in France from French wheat. In 2004, Sidney Frank sold the brand to Bacardi for $2.2 billion. Among French vodkas, Grey Goose has some competitors, as the French vodkas Nuage, Idol, and Ice Kube are also now on the market. These vodkas are sold mostly in North America, and are marketed as premium brands. Grey Goose vodka is bottled with a replaceable cork rather than a screw-top cap.
Grey Goose was designed for the American market in 1997 by Sidney Frank, a self-made billionaire. After the advent of the premium vodka market by rival Polish vodka brand Belvedere vodka in 1996, his concept was to create a high quality vodka for 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. Grey Goose was created as a result.
Distilled and bottled in France, Grey Goose is made from French winter wheat from in and around Picardy, an area north of Paris. It is distilled in a column still and the high proof spirit is then blended with spring water that has been filtered through limestone in the Cognac region of France.
Grey Goose was sold in the largest ever single brand sale for $2 billion, in cash, to Bacardi.[1] This sale made Frank an estimated profit of $1.6 billion. Incidentally, Frank was also behind the success of Jägermeister before launching Grey Goose. Before his death on January 10, 2006 at the age of 86, his final projects included a premium tequila named Corazon and Crunk!!! energy drink, a joint venture with hip hop entrepreneur Lil' Jon.
The success of Grey Goose in the marketplace has been credited as inspiring introduction of other more expensive "premium" vodkas.[2]