

The venture into the vodka space excited François, so he said yes, but only under one condition: that he would have complete control over the process from start to finish. Nearly 25 years ago, Sidney approached François - then a seasoned cognac cellar master - with the idea to create the first French, super-premium vodka. BD: What’s the history of Grey Goose?ĪA: Grey Goose was born out of collaboration between our Cellar Master François Thibault and industry veteran Sidney Frank. We are very proud of the integrity and quality of the ingredients, the craftsmanship, and the brand’s production processes - which, fortunately for us, is exactly why Grey Goose shines. For decades, Thibault has continued to oversee the production of each and every batch of Grey Goose, ensuring an unwavering consistency with every bottle. Because we start with the best ingredients, we’re proud to say that Grey Goose is distilled just once to preserve the natural character of our ingredients. His original recipe, which remains unchanged, uses just two quality ingredients - spring water from our natural well near Cognac, and single origin, soft-winter wheat used by the finest patisseries. At inception, our Cellar Master François Thibault set out to make a product that deeply reflected this. Beverage Dynamics: What makes French vodkas different from others?Īleco Azqueta: Grey Goose is proud of its French heritage, as it is produced against the background of their country’s rich and extensive gastronomic heritage, which is what makes Grey Goose so unique. Here’s what propelled the brand to worldwide heights, and what’s next. Acquired by Bacardi in 2004, Grey Goose represents the success of French vodka. What is it about French vodka that lends itself to the affordable luxury lifestyle? Why has this country produced so many global brands, while also supporting a growing, dynamic craft vodka category? For answers, we recently spoke with Aleco Azqueta, VP of marketing for Grey Goose. These include Cîroc, Pinnacle and the brand that kickstarted the vodka premiumization trend, Grey Goose.

French vodka is a robust category with a number of household-name brands.
