Grey Goose Vodka (4.5 L)

When Cognac Maître de Chai François Thibault co-created Grey Goose in 1997, he applied an ingredient-first philosophy borrowed from fine eau-de-vie: no purchased neutral grain spirit, no redistillation shortcuts, no additives. The result deliberately broke vodka's defining orthodoxy of odourless neutrality. Soft winter wheat (blé panifiable supérieur, 100% GMO-free) is sourced exclusively from three family-farm cooperatives in Picardy's flat northern plains, where a 10-month growing cycle — sown October, harvested late July — produces a denser, starchier grain than summer wheat. Fermentation runs continuously across six cascading tanks to a ~10% ABV wash before a single five-column distillation to 96% ABV. The high-proof spirit travels 600 km south to Gensac-la-Pallue in the Cognac region, where it is blended with artesian spring water drawn 150 m through Champagne limestone, demineralised via double reverse osmosis to pH ~5, then passed once through a light cellulose-and-active-carbon polish — not heavy chill-filtration. Zero sugar, flavouring, or additives are permitted at any stage. The special feature: a single distillation deliberately preserves cracked-wheat cereal character and faint anise that peers using multiple redistillations strip away entirely. Bottled at 40% ABV; this 4.5 L format is drawn from the same production chain, subject to over 550 quality checks and batch tasting before release.