Grey Goose (vodka)

Infobox Beverage
name=Grey Goose


type=Vodka
manufacturer=Bacardi
origin=France
introduced=1997 in USA
discontinued=
abv = 40.0%
proof= 80
related= List of vodkas
variants= L'Orange, La Vanille, Le Citron, La Poire

Grey Goose is a brand of vodka. It is distilled in Cognac, France from French wheat, imported to the United States 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.Fact|date=February 2008 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. These vodkas are sold mostly in North America, and are marketed as premium brands.

Production and history

Unlike vodkas with a long history, Grey Goose was tailor-made for the US market in 1997 as the brainchild of Sidney Frank, a self-made billionaire. His concept was to create a super-premium 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. As a result, Grey Goose was invented.

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 Central. The distillation takes place in the Cognac region of France.

Grey Goose was recently sold in the largest ever single brand sale for $2 billion, in cash, to Bacardi. [ [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/biz/features/10816/ Sidney Frank - The Man Behind Grey Goose Vodka ] ] 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 "Crunk!!!"energy drink, a joint venture with hip-hop entrepreneur Lil' Jon, and a premium tequila named Corazon.

The current "Master Mixologist and U.S. Brand Ambassador" for Grey Goose is Nick Mautone from New York City. Mr. Mautone is also the author of "Raising the Bar: Better Drinks, Better Entertaining."

Like Ezra Brooks bourbon, Grey Goose vodka is bottled with a replaceable cork rather than a screw-top cap.

Grey Goose and the low-priced vodka market

When Sidney Frank created Grey Goose, he priced it well above established competitors such as Absolut. This high price created a perception of quality. Frank's strategy proved successful, as Grey Goose was a financial hit and led to significant changes in the market. Many people attribute Grey Goose as being a major inspiration for the various other high-priced vodkas. "See, e.g." [http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/is-vodka-different/ Levitt, Steven D., "Is Vodka Different?" "Freakonomics Blog" (August 31, 2007)] . Examples of vodkas that would follow in the footsteps of Grey Goose include Valt of Marceau, Inc. from Scotland, Cîroc of Lumb from France, Level from Sweden, and Trump Super Premium Vodka, (Drinks Americas) from Holland.

References

External links

* [http://www.greygoosevodka.com Grey Goose website]
* [http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/biz/features/10816/ The Cocktail Creationist] magazine, January 10, 2005.
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html?ex=1264482000&en=5913ec796f54a33c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt New York Times: A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals] January 26, 2005. (Relevant to topic on superpremium vodka market.)