Grey Goose is a top-shelf vodka brand that has been widely recognized for its crisp and smooth mouthfeel, elegant bottle, and reputation as the elite’s poison.
If you enjoy it or you’re wondering whether you will, you might be interested to know what Grey Goose Vodka is made from. I looked into it and here’s what I found!
What Is Grey Goose Vodka Made From?
Grey Goose Vodka is made from a mixture of spring water and the ethanol of fermented winter wheat. Additionally, both ingredients come only from France. Grey Goose gets its spring water from a limestone well in Gensac-La-Pallue and its winter wheat from Picardy. Moreover, Grey Goose’s flavored vodkas are made with all-natural ingredients like Menton lemons and Anjou pears.
If you want to learn more about what goes into Grey Goose Vodka, keep on reading!
What Grain Is Grey Goose Vodka Made From?
Grey Goose is made from winter wheat that is sourced from Picardy, France. This winter wheat is single-origin, thereby ensuring its high quality.
For its other crucial ingredient, Grey Goose uses spring water from a 500 foot deep well in Gensac-La-Pallue, which is a commune in southwestern France.
Additionally, the soil in this well is full of limestone, making the water rich in calcium and giving Grey Goose vodka its crisp mouthfeel.
What Are The Ingredients In Grey Goose Vodka?
Like all traditional vodkas, Grey Goose has only two ingredients. First is the ethyl alcohol derived from fermented winter wheat. The second is spring water from Gensac-La-Pallue.
Grey Goose also has flavored vodkas developed by Cellar Master François Thibault. They are La Poire (Pear Flavored Vodka) and Le Citron (Lemon Flavored Vodka).
La Poire is made from the traditional Grey Goose Vodka recipe and infused with fresh Anjou pears, which are also cultivated in France.
Similarly, Le Citron is made from Grey Goose Vodka and Menton lemons. Due to the thick skin of Menton lemons, they generate more essential oils which contribute to flavor.
Grey Goose also has other flavored vodkas, namely Strawberry & Lemongrass, White Peace & Rosemary, L’Orange, and Watermelon & Basil.
While Grey Goose does not disclose the ingredients used for each of these flavored vodkas, they do claim on their website that the ingredients they used are all-natural.
How Is Grey Goose Made?
Grey Goose makes their vodka by fermenting winter wheat, which happens in a continuous manner in a big vat. Once the vat is emptied, the first batch of fermented wheat is ready.
At first, the liquid has 10% ABV and is considered beer. Through distillation, the beer is transformed into a spirit.
Grey Goose Vodka uses a five column distillation process, each of them with their own purpose
Purifying the ethanol to 92% is the job of the first column while watering down the vodka for redistillation is the job of the second column.
As for the third column, it rectifies the vodka under pressure, and the fourth column is for rectifying under vacuum. Both the third and fourth columns aim to remove high and low oils.
Finally, the fifth column reduces the methanol from the vodka to a permissible level.
To prepare the spring water, it is filtered through double reverse osmosis before it is mixed with the ethanol and bottled at 40% ABV.
Is Grey Goose Vodka Made From Potatoes?
Grey Goose Vodka is made from winter wheat, not potatoes. Unlike some brands that have been distilling vodka for decades, Grey Goose did not transition from potatoes to wheat.
Is Grey Goose Gluten-Free?
Grey Goose Vodka is gluten-free even though it is made with wheat. During the distillation process, the gluten derived from the winter wheat is eliminated completely.
Once the distillation is complete, the resulting liquid is pure vodka, making it suitable for both celiacs and people who prefer to limit gluten in their diet.
Moreover, Grey Goose refrains from adding gluten-containing ingredients to their vodkas after they’ve been distilled.
If Grey Goose Vodka ever contains gluten, it would be through cross-contamination with products that have gluten. However, Grey Goose is careful to avoid such circumstances.
Is Grey Goose Sugar-Free?
Grey Goose Vodka, both the unflavored and flavored varieties, contains no sugar. Additionally, they all clock in at less than 100 calories per 1.5 ounce shot.
Is Grey Goose Vodka Organic?
Grey Goose Vodka is not an organic product. However, its creators launched an organic vodka called American Harvest.
When a vodka is organic, it means that the ingredients were not exposed to fertilizers or artificial agents, and the vodka is not filtered with carbon or charcoal.
Such is the case with American Harvest, although the same cannot be said about Grey Goose vodka because the vodka is filtered through pads of carbon and cellulose.
Does Grey Goose Have Glycerin?
Grey Goose does not contain glycerin.
Glycerin is a food additive that has no color and odor, but has a sweet taste that makes it the ideal sweetener to vodkas. Moreover, glycerin is known for improving vodka’s viscosity while maintaining its flavor.
As a result, some people think that Grey Goose has glycerin due to its smooth mouthfeel. However, test results proved that Grey Goose has no trace of glycerin at all.
What Is The Alcohol Content of Grey Goose Vodka?
Grey Goose Vodka maintains 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof for its unflavored vodkas. This also applies to two of their flavored vodkas, Le Citron and L’Orange.
Additionally, Grey Goose’s Essences line contains only 35% ABV or 70 proof.
If you want to learn more about vodka, you can see our related posts on what New Amsterdam Vodka is made from, what Pinnacle Vodka is made from, and what Finlandia Vodka is made from.
Conclusion
Grey Goose Vodka is a top-shelf brand made from single-origin Picardy winter wheat and spring water.
Since the water is dug from a deep limestone well, it is naturally rich in calcium. Grey Goose makes sure not to filter out all the minerals from the water to give their vodka a distinct taste.
Moreover, Grey Goose does not contain any sugar, carbs, or glycerine. Their vodkas are smooth, sweet, and have high viscosity because of their ingredients and creation.