Grey Goose (vodka)
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| Type | Vodka |
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| Manufacturer | Bacardi |
| Country of origin | France |
| Introduced | 1997 in United States |
| Alcohol by volume | 40% |
| Proof (US) | 80 |
| Variants | L'Orange, Le Citron, La Poire, Cherry Noir, Le Melon |
| Related products | List of vodkas |
| Website | Grey Goose |
Grey Goose is a brand of vodka produced in France. It was created by Sidney Frank, who sold it in 2004 to Bacardi. The Maître de Chai for Grey Goose is François Thibault, who developed the original recipe for the vodka in Cognac, France.
Grey Goose was created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC). Sidney Frank, founder/CEO of the company, developed the idea in the summer of 1996. The idea for Grey Goose was to develop a luxury vodka for the American marketplace. SFIC partnered with cognac producer François Thibault (a French Maître de Chai, or, Cellar Master) in France in order to transition his skills from cognac to vodka production.
The company selected France due to the country's culinary history and to differentiate itself from other vodkas produced in Eastern Europe. The water used to produce the vodka came from natural springs in France filtered through Champagne limestone, and made with locally produced French wheat. The company also developed its distinctive smoked glass bottle featuring French geese in flight, and delivered its product in wooden crates similar to wine.
In 1998 Grey Goose was named the best-tasting vodka in the world by the Beverage Testing Institute. The company was eventually sold to Bacardi for US $2.2 billion in August 2004. That year Grey Goose was the best-selling premium brand vodka in the United States. The company sold more than 1.5 million cases that year.
The wheat used in the creation of Grey Goose vodka is grown in Picardy, France. Distilled in the same region, north and east of Paris, the distillate is then sent to Cognac, France, where it is blended with spring water and bottled. The wheat used in Grey Goose is soft winter wheat, sown in October and harvested in August, which provides it with four additional months of growth in comparison to summer wheat. The wheat sold to Grey Goose is categorized as "superior bread-making wheat", and wheat that is soft.
Enzymes are used to break down the carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. The fermentation takes place continuously over six cascading tanks, producing a 20-proof beer. The wash is then distilled into spirit using a five-step process. The water used in the vodka comes from a natural spring 150 metres (500 feet) below the blending facility in Cognac, which is lined with limestone, providing calcium-rich spring water. The vodka is also filtered through a copper filtration system in order to impart additional flavours. That water is then filtered to remove impurities. After the filtration the vodka is bottled in a plant dedicated solely to bottling Grey Goose. Grey Goose vodka is bottled with a replaceable cork rather than a screw-top cap.
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Wikipedia