By
George Brozowski
I
received
a call from FedEx the other day and was informed that a box
of booze had been damaged in transit and I should come down
and pick it up. They further said only one bottle had been
broken and there were several others still intact. As it turned
out "damaged in transit" was a gross understatement.
That box looked like it had fallen out of a cargo plane at
35,000 feet and careened down a boulder infested mountainside
and finally got run over by a steamroller. It only faintly
resembled a box.
Sure
enough inside was a broken bottle of Grey Goose
but the good news was that a bottle of traditional Grey
Goose was still in one piece as was the flock of
three flavored geese. All was not lost, YAY.
II
have to say right up front that I really like the traditional
Grey Goose and have been drinking it for
quite a while now. Actually I first tasted it in 1997 when
the legendary Sidney Frank first introduced it into America
from France that year. As a matter of fact he was so successful
in promoting it that he ended up selling the brand to Bacardi
in 2004 for $2 Billion. He is also the marketing genius who
got every college kid in America to drink and like that horrible
Jagermeister. If you really want to know my full opinion of
Jagermeister, click
here.
I
was living in San Francisco in 1997 when I got the call from
my publisher, Mike Walsh, that Sidney Frank was launching
Grey Goose in San Francisco and wanted to
take a group of local journalists, radio dj's, TV news people
and sports figures out on the town to try Grey Goose
for the first time. We had to dress up and would be picked
up by limousines. How can you refuse that type of invitation?
In
all there were 5 limos and each contained 2 Grey Goose
girls and 4 of us lucky stiffs and enough bottles of Grey
Goose to sink the Titanic. We ended up going to 4
clubs where we tasted 3 house specialty mini martinis made
with Grey Goose and got to sample dozens
of their house specialty appetizers. By the end of that evening
I had made at least 20 new friends, was stuffed on fine food
and of course had consumed at least a dozen mini martinis
and a few regular sized ones as well. We were gently deposited
at home at the end of the evening and each given parting gifts
of probably 50 miniature bottles, several regular sized bottles
and 2 magnums of Grey Goose along with a
T-shirt or two.
Needless
to say, the next morning the radio and TV shows whose hosts
had participated the previous night raved about the evening
throughout their programs as did the sports celebrity guests
who appeared on the shows. The two major newspapers wrote
glowing articles as we also did. That kind of product launch
media blitz hasn't been seen since and Grey Goose
literally became an overnight sensation.
All
that being said I am still wary of any flavored spirit as
more have fallen short than succeeded. But at least Grey
Goose is starting out with a really good vodka so
I am hoping for the best. The three flavored Geese that survived
the trip ended up being; black cherry, orange and pear so
let's get to it.
I
want to start by revisiting my old friend traditional Grey
Goose. The nose is clean and crisp and has no particular
aroma or even a hint of alcohol. On the palate it continues
that crispness with no discernible taste and possibly the
slightest hint of pepper. The finish is smooth and clean and
short but sweet. This is truly wonderful vodka in every sense
of the definition of vodka as being odorless, colorless and
with no particular taste. It defines super premium and is
well worth the price of $28.00 for the 750ml and $37.00 for
the liter.
With
that high quality of vodka as the base for their flavored
spirits my expectations were quite high. Next was the Cherry
Noir. Straight from the bottle the aroma is Grey
Goose vodka infused with ripe cherries and hints
of other subtle citrus scents. However, in the snifter, the
aroma broadens out and now begins to resemble cough medicine
more closely rather than cherries. It starts out smooth on
the palate with the flavor in the background but that flavor
quickly comes forward and dominates the mouth. That flavor
is not the natural fruit of the cherry but something else
that's hard to describe. It is soft but has an edge to it
that dissolves into a citrus and pepper bite. It leaves a
bitter although smooth finish that leaves my tongue tingling
and that is medium in duration. Even on the rocks it maintains
this acidic profile. This is not what I was expecting. It
is priced similarly to the unflavored vodka.
Next
up is the Orange flavored Grey Goose. The
nose, as concentrated in the bottle is very orange peel like
with a strong citrus back. In the snifter the orange definitely
steps forward and reminds me of immature oranges that are
a bit citrusy and acidic and need a while to mature and mellow.
On the palate this vodka starts out smooth and subtle which
is quickly followed by a nicely laid back orange flavor followed
by a pleasant citrus back. The finish is smooth and medium
in length and just fruity and sharp enough to make it interesting.
There is still quite a citrus acid background to this flavor
but it is much truer to its orange namesake than the cherry
was. On the rocks the citrus back subsided but the orange
flavor still seemed immature and I did not find it as satisfying
as I thought I would. It is the same price as the previous
two.
Last
but not least is the Pear flavor. Now I have
to reveal that after I moved from San Francisco I moved to
Santa Rosa, California and in my backyard were several pear
trees so I am very familiar with very fresh pears. We used
to pick them at their ripest and even then they were rock
hard and needed to be put in paper bags for a week or so to
ripen and soften. And when they ripened they were the sweetest
most tender, juicy and tasty things I have ever eaten so with
great anticipation I opened the bottle of Grey Goose
pear. The nose straight from the bottle is reminiscent
of those pears I used to enjoy.
It
has a subtle yet very pear like sweetness to it. In the snifter
the pear essence becomes more obvious to the nose and it is
very close to the real thing. On the palate the pear flavor
is very much forward yet subtle and balanced. It is sweet
and fruity and I swear I can almost taste the pear skins.
The finish is much less citrus like and acidic than the previous
two flavors and does not leave my tongue tingling. I do believe
that they got this one quite right.
I
believe my belief in Grey Goose hasn't been
too shaken by this experience and I will continue to drink
and thoroughly enjoy traditional Grey Goose
and even add the pear flavor on occasion. The other two, cherry
and orange I might use in a mixed drink but as expensive as
Grey Goose is there are less expensive mixed
drink alternatives.
Flavored
spirits, no matter the type are always a hit or miss proposition
and in this case they have both hits and misses.
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
www.greygoose.com/