Grey Goose: ‘Time is right’ for flavoured vodka
Bacardi’s vice-president of global marketing explains why Grey Goose has returned to flavoured vodka with the launch of Berry Rouge this month.
As Grey Goose Berry Rouge hits shelves in the US this month, it marks the first time the Bacardi-owned brand has visited flavoured vodka since the limited time relaunch of La Vanille in 2018 (now discontinued), and before that Le Melon in 2014 (also discontinued).
Explaining why the brand believes now is the right time to release a flavoured vodka once more, Bacardi’s vice-president of global marketing, Aleco Azqueta, says Berry Rouge ties more into the way people are drinking these days.
“Right now you’ve got the Spritz occasion, people are looking at long cocktails and for more premium moments to spend together,” he tells The Spirits Business.
Azqueta maintains flavoured vodka has always had interest, despite the bad rap flavours sometimes gets from their history in the early 2000s. “It went overboard with brands releasing bacon-flavoured or cotton candy-flavoured vodka and you had a lot of these artificial flavour notes,” he says. “But flavoured vodka never really went away – it’s still a massive category.
“When we look at our insights over half of all vodka consumers dabble in flavours and over a third of all vodka consumption is flavour, which doesn’t even count all the spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) products, which, when you think about it, are often a different version of flavoured vodka.”
Today’s demand for premium, natural flavours from consumers suits Grey Goose. “We’ve always been consistent in our approach to flavours,” Azqueta says.
“At the base they’re still Grey Goose Vodka, the same production method, made in the Cognac region of France with Picardy wheat and Gensac spring water. And then we’ve always used only all natural fruits for our core range – La Poire, L’Orange and Le Citron – which is still performing quite well. It’s never been about trying to introduce a new flavour every year.”
Flavoured vodka as a premium
While there are many other berry-flavoured vodkas on the market, Azqueta sees Berry Rouge’s appeal as more about highlighting naturality than sweetness.
“I think that’s what people are looking for today, just more clean drinking, making sure that there’s transparency in what they’re having,” he says.
“We really wanted to create something that was unique in that we’re using four berries, so we have strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and blueberry, all sourced from the Mediterranean between Spain, France and Morocco. Completely natural and no sugar added whatsoever.
“It’s nice because I think with berries if you’re just using one, you might just have a single note, but here you really have a symphony of flavour, so there’s more depth and complexity to the vodka.”
As a brand, Grey Goose is often seen as a status symbol, synonymous with nightlife celebrations, so Azqueta also views the flavoured line as a “great way to really be a part of that daytime occasion with longer cocktails”.
The brand has focused its original vodka around the Martini, as the purest showcase of vodka in a cocktail, but Berry Rouge will be positioned in serves like a Cosmopolitan twist or its signature Spritz-style recipe, the Rouge Royale.
“That golden-hour daytime occasion is the real sweet spot for Grey Goose Berry Rouge,” Azqueta says. “With this you can also drink it on the rocks and dress it up with berry condiments, or make a really beautiful cocktail just with tonic or soda. People are making a lot of cocktails at home now, so they’re looking for a product that’s easy to elevate any drink.”
Azqueta adds flavoured vodka can also act as the “less serious part of the category”.
“It just allows and opens consumers in a relaxed setting to have a good time and just really enjoy the experience,” he explains.
Of positioning Grey Goose to be more approachable, Azqueta says: “That’s one of the things as a brand we really want to have people think about where Grey Goose doesn’t just have to be a special occasion. If you want to have flavoured vodka, why not step up and elevate that occasion – so you can have a little bit of French elegance and playfulness – but it doesn’t just have to be reserved for a special moment.”
Optimal line up
Berry Rouge also won’t begin a flow of new flavour releases from Grey Goose. This will be it for awhile, Azqueta says: “We’re not ones to be releasing flavours all the time and we’ve had them [our current flavours] for almost 20 years at this point, so we think four is probably optimal before you start diluting the portfolio a bit.”
The new expression will play a key part in the brand’s portfolio going forward, which also includes Altius, an ultra-premium version of Grey Goose that was released in spring 2024.
“That one’s really interesting because we just distil the vodka at -24ºC, so it’s actually the coldest distilled vodka,” Azqueta says.
“It gives you a different taste and preserves minerality because we pull from a different water source to Grey Goose Original – from the top of the Alps – so we’re trying to mimic those conditions and it’s all hand-bottled.”
Altius, like Berry Rouge, also taps into the craftsmanship side of vodka that has come up more in conversation in recent years. “The whole process is quite laborious and takes a long time to make compared to our original vodka, so it’s a much more batch-produced item,” Azqueta adds.
“With Altius, our original vodka and our flavoured lineup, we have a different range of products that are complimentary to each other and that puts us in a really great place.
“We’re the number one super-premium vodka in the world and we continue to grow.”
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