🥃 Grey Goose

Grey Goose is a French vodka brand owned by Bacardi, made from just two ingredients: soft winter wheat from Picardie and spring water from Gensac-la-Pallue in the Cognac region. Sidney Frank and cellar master François Thibault created it in the summer of 1997, Bacardi bought it in 2004, and the classic bottle is 40% ABV. ¹²⁵

Two ingredients. The producer uses single-origin wheat of the top French bread-making grade, blé panifiable supérieur, and has bought it from the same three farming co-operatives since production began; it is harvested once a year, in late July or early August. ¹ The water comes from the brand's own well in Gensac-la-Pallue, from a limestone aquifer about 150 m (500 ft) below the blending site. According to Bacardi, every step from field to bottle takes place in France and can be traced. ¹²

How it is made. The whole grain is milled at the distillery, natural enzymes turn its starch into glucose, and a cascade fermentation gives a «bread wine» of about 10% ABV. ¹ It is distilled once, in steel and copper columns, cut with the spring water after double reverse osmosis and passed once through cellulose and activated carbon; every batch is tasted after 550 quality checks. ¹ The vodka is distilled in Picardy and bottled in Cognac. ⁵

What the law calls vodka. In the EU vodka is ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin distilled so that the taste of the raw material is reduced, with at least 37.5% ABV, no colouring, at most 8 g/l of sweetening and no more than 10 g of methanol per hectolitre of pure alcohol. ³ A vodka not made only from potatoes or cereals must say «produced from…» on the label, so a wheat vodka such as Grey Goose needs no such note. Flavoured vodka also needs 37.5% and may contain up to 100 g/l of sugar. ³

The range. After the 1997 vodka came L'Orange in 2001, Le Citron with oils of Menton lemons in 2003, La Poire with Anjou pears in 2006, the Essences line in 2020 and a bottled Classic Martini with French dry vermouth and orange bitters in 2023. ¹ Berry Rouge, launched in 2025, uses strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries grown in France, Spain and Morocco. ⁹¹⁰ In the US the producer has dropped Cherry Noir, Le Melon, La Vanille, VX and Ducasse. ¹¹

Altius. This premium version uses the same Picardie wheat but spring water from a well about 900 m (3,000 ft) up in the French Alps. ⁸ It is chilled and filtered at −24 °C, which the producer says crystallises part of the spirit and makes filtration 30 times slower than for the classic vodka. ⁸⁷ Each batch is reviewed by the cellar master, bottled by hand and numbered, and Altius is sold mainly in selected bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels. ⁷

Strength and calories. A 1.5 oz (44 ml) serving of the classic vodka at 40% ABV has 98 calories and no carbohydrates, according to the producer's US nutrition label, and a 750 ml bottle holds 17 such servings. ⁶ The Essences line is 30% ABV with 73 calories per 1.5 oz. ⁵ Although wheat contains gluten, EU allergen rules exempt cereals used for alcoholic distillates, so the vodka does not have to list wheat as an allergen. ¹³

Grey Goose under EU and US rules. US law treats vodka as neutral spirits distilled at 95% ABV or more and bottled at no less than 40% (80 proof), with at most 2 g/l of sugar and 1 g/l of citric acid and no ageing in wood. ¹² The EU minimum is lower, 37.5%, but it allows up to 8 g/l of sweetening. ³ That is why the US label of Grey Goose separates «vodka and flavored vodkas – 40%» from «vodka with natural flavors – 30%», the Essences. ⁵

Why it matters to you. «Cognac» on the bottle does not mean grapes: Grey Goose is a wheat vodka that is only blended and bottled in the Cognac region. ¹⁵ Check the name and the ABV: classic Grey Goose and the flavoured vodkas are 40%, while Essences at 30% is below the EU vodka minimum of 37.5%. ⁵³ Lower strength does not make it safe: WHO/Europe says there is no level of alcohol consumption that is safe for health. ⁴