This advertising content was produced in collaboration with our partner, Grey Goose.
When it comes to spirits, the flavor of the month—and the year—is flavored vodka. The fast-expanding segment is finding fans due to distilleries delivering a bold range of adventurous infusions, from fiery peppers to juicy peaches and notable botanicals such as rose and mint.
There’s a not-so-secret reason why: As a base spirit, vodka serves as sturdy scaffolding for intense aromas and flavors. “Vodka is great for infusions because it takes on flavor easily,” says Molly Horn, the chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More. Vodka’s inherent neutrality makes it “easy to build any flavor and texture one may want without having to account for any flavor from the spirit itself,” she adds.
Flavored vodka can also expand the behind-the-bar pantry, helping bartenders concoct compelling and creative cocktails that drive sales. It’s now the second-most popular cocktail base in the U.S., according to the NIQ On-Premise User Survey, creating a win-win for bars and brands alike. The popularity of Espresso Martinis, for example, has driven massive demand for coffee-flavored vodkas. Now, there’s growing consumer interest in cocktails made from vodkas with “bright and vibrant berry-blend flavors,” says Horn.
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The most notable new entrant to the category is Berry Rouge from Grey Goose. The luxury French vodka brand is well known for its flagship spirit, a staple in Martinis and mixed with club soda. However, its flavored-vodka portfolio is growing in range and complexity by delivering the quality and contemporary flavors that drinkers desire in today’s top cocktails.
“Consumers continue to seek cocktails made with spirits that are both premium and flavorful,” said Aleco Azqueta, the vice president of global marketing for Grey Goose, in a press statement. Today, Grey Goose remains the best-selling vodka in the super-premium category, according to the Drinks International 2025 Brand Report.
Berry Rouge Broadens the Grey Goose Portfolio
Grey Goose is leading flavored vodka’s innovative charge by thinking beyond the citrus orchard. The distillery’s portfolio features vodkas infused with familiar fruits, such as lemons and oranges, as well as unexpected aromatic duos, including watermelon and basil, strawberry and lemongrass, and white peach and rosemary—the last one makes a standout Bellini.
Now, Berry Rouge marks the brand’s largest flavored vodka release in a decade. Introduced in January, Grey Goose builds Berry Rouge from the same base of soft, high-quality winter wheat, grown in northern France’s Picardy region, and naturally limestone-filtered spring water drawn from the distillery’s own well in southwestern France’s Gensac-la-Pallue.
At Grey Goose, “we believe exceptional vodka begins with exceptional ingredients,” said Gianluigi Torta, the master distiller for Grey Goose, in a press statement. The sourcing commitment extends to the freshly picked Mediterranean blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries that deliver “a flavor profile that tastes fresh and true to the fruit itself,” added Torta.
The vivid fruit-bowl fragrance is skillfully matched to the spirit’s smooth texture and lasting clean finish, creating an exceptional flavored vodka that stands out to consumers and bartenders alike.
“With Berry Rouge, we wanted to rethink what a flavored vodka can be, creating a multidimensional blend of four berries that delivers a vibrant flavor,” Azqueta said. The flavored vodka is free from GMOs, gluten, and added sugar, offering “a delicious way for consumers to pick pleasure without compromise, whether enjoyed on its own or mixed into a great cocktail.”
Flavored Vodka Excels in Cocktails
For bartenders, stocking a bar with rows of fresh fruits and herbs can be an additional challenge. Fresh ingredients might be cost-prohibitive or out of season, and there’s also the price of labor to peel, slice, and prep fruits and herbs before the evening shift starts. Infused vodkas provide an ideal shortcut to massive and memorable flavor without cutting corners.
“Having access to easy-to-manipulate ingredients that contain alcohol while also carrying flavor is a huge boon to any bartender and home mixologist,” says Horn. She’s keeping a close eye on innovation around unique flavors that are hard to recreate on one’s own.
Done well, infused vodkas “make it super-easy to play with flavors and not have to worry about additional flavors that traditional base spirits like whiskey, gin, or tequila might add to a cocktail,” adds Horn.
Flavored vodkas can also help expand the customer pool. In particular, a Polaris Market Research report finds that millennial drinkers favor cocktails made with flavored vodkas due to their “versatility and ability to be mixed with a wide range of ingredients to create unique and exciting cocktails.”
Berry Rouge is a great way to level up cocktail menus that increasingly prioritize and incorporate flavored vodkas. Consider it a chameleonic spirit. Berry Rouge can be served with a spritzy splash of club soda to create a simple yet complex-tasting cocktail, or it can supply a fresh and fruity seasonal twist to classic cocktails such as the Bramble, Smash, or Swizzle.
Be it brunch, dinner, or a night out with friends, Berry Rouge is at ease in cocktails any time of day or occasion. The flavored vodka, though, truly excels in the signature Grey Goose Rouge Royale. The enlivening spritz blends the berry-forward vodka with brut rosé, lemonade, and soda water that’s then garnished with fresh blueberries and raspberries, a lemon wheel, and a mint sprig.
Built on quality, versatility, and consumer appeal, Grey Goose Berry Rouge is poised to become the next go-to premium pour. By meeting consumer demand with a top-shelf product that delivers on flavor, Grey Goose is well positioned to drive on-premise sales all year long.
Dispatch
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