Grey Goose Becomes Official Vodka Supplier to Virgin Galactic
Richard Branson, Grey Goose creator and Maître de Chai François Thibault, and George Whitesides toast to a new partnership. (Credit: Grey Goose)
HAMILTON, Bermuda, September 23, 2014 (Grey Goose/Virgin Galactic PR) — GREY GOOSE®, the world’s leading super premium vodka, announces today its official partnership with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial passenger flight into space. Formed from a shared philosophy that extraordinary achievement comes from acting on your beliefs, the partnership was revealed this evening by Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides, Global Category Director Premium White Spirits Ben Farlow and GREY GOOSE creator and Maître de Chai François Thibault, at the Rose Space Center and Planetarium in New York.
As part of the evening, Sir Richard Branson introduced Virgin Disruptors, a thought leadership series supported by The Virgin Group. A panel of disruptive minds in the travel industry debated “The Future of Travel: Are We Moving Fast Enough?”
This event marks the beginning of a partnership between the two iconic brands that goes beyond solely sharing a philosophy. As Virgin Galactic welcomes the first commercial passengers into space, GREY GOOSE will bring this space journey to life through a range of out-of-this-world experiences, exclusive content and a series of limited edition promotions. This will be complemented with exclusive sponsorship activity at the Virgin Galactic launch location at Spaceport America, New Mexico. For those who will be experiencing the commercial space flights, exceptional signature cocktails will toast the new era of space travel planned for 2015.
Both GREY GOOSE and Virgin Galactic were created by visionaries who possess the determination to act on their beliefs, seeing possibilities where others did not. François Thibault believed he could revolutionize vodka by applying his skills of a traditionally trained cognac Maître de Chai. Using only the finest ingredients François Thibault crafted a luxury vodka, built from the ground up through a field to bottle process that celebrates the quality of its ingredients versus neutrality. François Thibault pioneered a unique process that brings out the naturally superior characteristics and taste of the fresh ingredients, one radically different than traditional methods of distillation that strip vodka of its flavor. By combining soft winter wheat from Picardie with spring water from Gensac-La-Pallue, naturally filtered through limestone, combined with this unique distillation process, he created GREY GOOSE, a vodka of unprecedented quality and character.
“This is a marriage of two brands whoshare values and a true sense that if you can imagine it, it can be done. Not only do we both follow the same long-term vision that the extraordinary can be achieved from acting on your beliefs, but we also look forward to celebrating this iconic cultural moment in time with those on the ground,“ says François Thibault.
Sir Richard Branson truly embodies the FLY BEYOND® spirit at the heart of the GREY GOOSE vodka brand. A globally recognized entrepreneur who is both a pioneer and visionary in his own right, Sir Richard has defied expectations by constantly pushing boundaries and achieving unimaginable success from humble beginnings. Since 2008, GREY GOOSE has recognized and celebrated this kindred spirit in Sir Richard and the Virgin brand. First, featuring Sir Richard in the acclaimed television series, ICONOCLASTS, that showcases innovators and visionaries, produced by GREY GOOSE Entertainment. Most recently with the creation of the GREY GOOSE Loft at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow Airport, which elevates the travel experience to new heights. Now, by pioneering the first commercial passenger flights into space with the world’s first spaceline, Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard is at the forefront of a groundbreaking new travel experience that few believed possible.
“We are delighted that GREY GOOSE is joining us as a partner on our incredible journey. This evening of disruptive and rich debate about the future of travel, a wonderful celebration of human achievement, is at the heart of the Virgin Galactic GREY GOOSE partnership. We share a passionate pursuit of the extraordinary which we look forward to celebrating together as the world‘s first commercial spaceline builds and grow,“ says Branson.
About GREY GOOSE vodka
Every aspect of the creation of GREY GOOSE® is focused on crafting vodka of unmatched quality. The creation of GREY GOOSE begins with the very best ingredients from France – soft winter wheat from the Picardie region, le grenier à blé (the breadbasket of France) and spring water from Gensac-La-Pallue, in the Cognac Arrondissement (Region), which is naturally filtered through limestone. A unique distillation process brings out the naturally superior characteristics of these ingredients. From field-to-bottle, the expertise of the GREY GOOSE Maître de Chai (Cellar Master), François Thibault, ensures an unparalleled smoothness and exceptional taste to the connoisseur palate. The GREY GOOSE portfolio is comprised of GREY GOOSE Vodka, GREY GOOSE La Poire, GREY GOOSE L’Orange, GREY GOOSE Le Citron, GREY GOOSE Cherry Noir, and GREY GOOSE Le Melon Flavored Vodkas and GREY GOOSE VX. Spirit Drink. https://www.greygoose.com
The GREY GOOSE® brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
About VIRGIN GALACTIC
Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and aabar Investments PJS, is on track to be the world’s first commercial spaceline. To date, the company has accepted more than $80 million in deposits from approximately 700 individuals, which is 20% more than the total number of people who have ever gone to space. The new spaceship (SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise) and carrier craft (WhiteKnightTwo, VMS Eve) have both been developed for Virgin Galactic’s vehicle fleet by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 claimed the $10 million Ansari X Prize as the world’s first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galactic’s new reusable vehicles, which will be manufactured by The Spaceship Company in Mojave, Calif., share much of the same basic design, but are being built to carry six customers, or the equivalent scientific research payload to space. The vehicles will allow an out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience with astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space for tourist astronauts and a unique microgravity platform for researchers. The VSS Enterprise and VMS Eve test exhaustive test flight program is in its final stages leading to Virgin Galactic commercial operations, which will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
27 responses to “Grey Goose Becomes Official Vodka Supplier to Virgin Galactic”
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I think that this means that we should expect an announcement in the near future that the Nylon – Nitrous RM2 engine is to be replaced with an all liquid Vodka – Nitrous engine.
Well the Mercury Redstone did use ethanol fuel 😉 (with LOX though)…
IIRC the experimental work that Armadillo Aerospace did with their sounding rockets was using an ethanol / LOX mix. I accept that their rockets were much smaller and less capable than Mercury Redstone.
Good, Branson could probably use a stiff drink right about now.
So now Virgin Galactic has an official car and an official vodka. Perfect.
All they are missing is an official spaceship.
And an official space underwear supplier. Although I shudder to think what sort of slogan Branson would come up with for that. Or what sort of stunt he would try.
Or an official diaper supplier. Doubtless the test pilots and some of the space flight participants will find them useful at some point.
ask lisa which one to use.
Nothing says disruptive game-changing innovation like premium vodka.
Oh, sorry. Super premium vodka.
That’s all together different.
nah. There are much better vodka’s out there.
I would list it as premium vodka.
Good, glad they got that figured out.
So THAT’S the reason they haven’t launched SpaceShip 2 beyond 100 km yet – it hasn’t been a problem with the hybrid rocket engine, or any of the other engineering challenges. It was just that they did not yet have the right “official vodka” of Virgin Galactic.
Frankly, I think this is more a function of Branson taking the “Bluto/Animal House” approach to dealing with his crumbling credibility. As you may recall, Bluto advised Flounder as follows: “My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.”
They would be better getting an official spacecraft. Marketing before engineering- what a pathetic joke.
when all else fails…..
Yeah, like that’s going to help their credibility.
It will provide an excellent justification for any future delays:
“We felt that we better not work on the Spaceship until we had sobered up”
So is it called Virgin Galactic because they haven’t had a passenger in the whole galaxy? Will they change the name to Abstinent Galactic?
I’m wondering whether, if they ever actually get SpaceShip 2 flying, the passengers will be required to down at least one shot of Grey Goose before boarding. (Or maybe they’ll reserve it for the pilots.)
Smirnoff Vodka beat out Virgin Galactic and Grey Goose Vodka to outer space:)
http://media-cache-ak0.pini…
Smirnoff! Always one step ahead of everyone!
I am sure Spaceport America will have numerous billboards for “Fly Beyond” Grey Goose Vodka like this Smirnoff’s sign 🙂
http://ccoarchives.files.wo…
Somehow I am not surprised. Flashy and overpriced brands tend to stick together.
Now waiting for Official Monster Cables linking Official Beats Headphones to Official Apple Space Docking Station(TM).
A panel of disruptive minds in the travel industry debated “The Future of Travel: Are We Moving Fast Enough?”
Seriously?
Oh yeah. Totally serious. Watch it here:
http://www.ustream.tv/virgi…
Virgin has spent a decade and maybe $400 million getting all the way to 71,000 feet with a vehicle that won’t get as high as SpaceShipOne did a decade ago or the X-15 flew 50 years ago. By the 10th anniversary of JFK’s moon speech, NASA had completed Mercury, Gemini and landed six guys on the moon. Even when it actually flies, SpaceShipTwo is going to take you up and back to the same place you started.
To most people, Virgin hosting a panel discussion on whether we’re moving fast enough might seem highly ironic given this record. But, not for these guys. Branson just pushes ahead with anything that can make him look innovative or disruptive, irony be damned.
Oh, Branson’s big idea on this panel? Bicycles. Well, motorized bicycles and elevated bicycle paths. Cyclists could ride safely above the traffic while motorists killed themselves on the streets below. He actually said this; I’m not making this up.
Does that $400M include the $250M from NM taxpayers to provide VG a custom-built spaceport?
The New Mexico taxpayer deal is completely separate.