The wheat sold to Grey Goose is categorized as "superior bread-making wheat", and wheat that is soft (ie, low in protein).Īlthough made from wheat, as a distilled spirit, Grey Goose is gluten-free. 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. 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 the creation of Grey Goose vodka is grown in Picardy, France. Grey Goose costs up to four or five times more than most competing vodka brands and did not reach the top 10 in a 2005 taste test of vodka brands published in The New York Times, yet has still seen "explosive sales growth" in a few short years due in large part to its being perceived as a drink of the economic elite-even more so than items like Rolex wristwatches or Mercedes Benz automobiles. Based on extensive research and surveys, Stanley describes Grey Goose as a favorite beverage of Americans he terms "aspirationals" (i.e., "those who wish to act rich", regardless of actual income or wealth, and thus spend large amounts of income on status items).
Stanley discusses Grey Goose in his book Stop Acting Rich (2009). The company sold more than 1.5 million cases that year. That year Grey Goose was the best-selling premium brand vodka in the United States. The company was eventually sold by Sidney Frank to Bacardi for a reported US$2.2 billion in 2004. In 1998 Grey Goose was named the best-tasting vodka in the world by the Beverage Testing Institute. The company also developed its distinctive smoked glass bottle featuring French geese in flight, and delivered its product in wooden crates similar to wine.
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 selected France due to the country's culinary history and to differentiate itself from other vodkas produced in Eastern Europe. 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 idea for Grey Goose was to develop a luxury vodka for the American marketplace. Sidney Frank, founder/CEO of the company, developed the idea in the summer of 1997. "It was meant to be bare - an intoxicant that you could sip without even knowing that you are sipping it.Grey Goose was created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC). "This is not a spirit that was meant to be tasty," Minnick added. This could be why Costco's Kirkland vodka, at under $20, frequently gets rave reviews and beats out more expensive brands in tastings. "When you buy vodka, you are basically paying for someone's fat salary and the marketing associated with it," he said. Therefore, there is no real benefit in spending more on brands that claim to use premium ingredients. Distilling at a higher proof strips more character off the base, meaning the taste of the ingredients won't shine through, he said. It is distilled at the same high proof point as ethanol. Minnick said that vodka is by definition an odorless and tasteless liquor. "It is meant to be thrown in with something else and take on the character of whatever it is mixed with." "Vodka is purely marketing - there is nothing special about it," Fred Minnick, a bestselling author and spirits-tasting expert, told Business Insider.
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