For those of you that follow Cut The Cap’s movement through the world of fine bars, smoking terraces and restaurants you’ll know that we were in the presences of greatness at the Hospital Club, London on Monday… Many of you will have enjoyed his work, you might have even raise a glass to him in sheer delight of what you were drinking. We are of course talking about Mr Grey Goose himself, creator and visionary François Thibault!
François Thibault was a surprise guest at the launch of Grey Goose’s Fly Beyond project which is being spearheaded by a cinematic advertisement directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, yes the same Nicolas of Drive and Only God Forgives fame.
FLY BEYOND, the remarkable story of how GREY GOOSE creator François Thibault defied expectations in France and throughout the spirits world to create a vodka that would set a standard of luxury in the super premium category, will be shown in 96 art house cinemas across the UK from Monday 28 October.
The 90-second advertisement film, directed by award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, brings to life the compelling story of the making of Grey Goose vodka and the extraordinary journey of its creator François Thibault, trained as a Cognac Maître de Chai (cellar master). Through stunning imagery and storytelling, the advertisement film showcases the field-to-bottle provenance of Grey Goose and the challenges faced by François in his quest to create The World’s Best Tasting Vodka!
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“In the beginning, I was considered a maverick, even an eccentric, for trying to make vodka in historic Cognac, France, from wheat no less. There were many naysayers and sceptics, and all were waiting for me to fail, but I knew I could prove them wrong and create a product that tasted unlike anything available,” said François Thibault. “I’ve worked hard to create a spirit of outstanding quality and character. It is the world’s best because it is made like no other and feels exceptionally smooth in a dry martini or in other cocktails.”
The son of a wine grower, François was immersed from an early age in the craft of fine wine and spirits making. He later joined a leading Cognac house, where he received his formal instruction and began an apprenticeship of seven years under the tutelage of a Maître de Chai, until he earned the same title in 1992.
François developed a passion for blending extraordinary spirits. His vision was to create the world’s best-tasting vodka from an unlikely source — wheat from the Picardie Region, known as the “bread basket” of France. François selected only the finest soft winter wheat from Picardie, using the whole grain to create his spirit, and distilled it only once using a continuous column distillation process designed to transfer into Grey Goose the quality and character of the wheat. He then masterfully blended it with pure spring water, naturally filtered through champagne limestone, from the village of Gensac-La-Pallue in the Charente Valley near François’ place of birth.
To this day, François oversees the crafting of Grey Goose vodka and personally tastes every batch – not a bad part of his job and one we’d be more than happy to help out with! His exacting standards and artisanal touch, combined with more than 550 daily quality checks, ensure an uncompromising process from field-to-bottle, so that wherever is served to us Grey Goose lives up to its reputation for exceptional quality.
For more information on this finest of Vodka’s have a look at www.greygoose.com…