Description
Gray Goose was created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC). Sidney Frank, the company's founding CEO, developed the idea in the summer of 1996. Gray Goose's idea was to develop a luxury vodka for the American market. SFIC formed a partnership with cognac producer François Thibault (a French Maitre de Chai, or Canon Master) in France in order to transition his skills from brandy to vodka production.
The company selected France because of the country's culinary history and differentiated 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 designed its distinctive smoked glass bottle featuring French geese in flight and delivered its product in wine-like wooden crates.
In 1998, Gray Goose was named the best tasting vodka in the world by the Beverage Testing Institute. The company was eventually sold to Bacardi for $2.2 billion in August 2004. That year, Gray Goose was the best-selling premium brand vodka in the United States. The company sold more than 1.5 million cases that year.