What’s your taste profile? That’s the question Joe McCanta and the Grey Goose crew will be asking cocktail drinkers this summer. Forget your usual cosmopolitan or the bog standard mojito, the new campaign aims to get imbibers to break away from their old habits and excite their tastebuds with something new…
We did. At the lavish launch (held in the sumptuous Royal Suite of the recently refurbished St. Pancras Renaissance no less), we were treated to gorgeous Grey Goose cocktails (naturellement) before getting the lowdown on the five month initiative running from 1 June to October. It starts with a series of stylised black-and-white films about the five taste sensations featuring Henrietta Lovell of The Rare Tea Company extolling the virtues of ‘bitter’, Gerard Coleman of Artisan du Chocolat on the pleasure of ‘sweet’, Jonathan Downey of The Rushmore Group bigging up ‘sour’, Simon Mullins of Saltyard on ‘salty’ and Joe McCanta, Grey Goose ambasador on the curious and fascinating taste explosion that is ‘umami’. We were invited to take a taste test of our own before being let loose on the fabulous Art Deco trolleys filled with Grey Goose and bitter, sweet, salty, umami and sour accompaniments.
But the fun really starts with the Taste By Appointment sessions. Here’s where Joe McCanta gets all cheffy, using his skill, intuition and considerable knowledge of ingredients to conjure up your unique cocktail. He starts by asking questions about favourite drinks, mood, botanicals, occasion – that kind of thing, then after a drop of this here, a splash of that there, a herb or two for good measure, the next thing you know, you’re presented with the drink of your dreams. Ms S ended up with something absolutely wondrous made up with a careful balance of tarragon, pear vodka, yuzo juice and champagne, while Mr G kept to his dry martini style but Joe took it on a notch by introducing velvet falernum and a few other ingredients to the mix.
The good thing is these sessions will be taking place at select London locations from 1 June. Tickets cost £15 (with 50% going to the Elton John AIDS foundation) and include your bespoke cocktail, a taste experience and downloadable recipes to present to bartenders or try at home. If you can’t make it, there’s also an interactive app, designed by Joe to spread the gospel about taste. Just like the bespoke drink experience above, the aim is to find out your taste profile so you’ll always end up with the perfect Grey Goose cocktail.
The Details:
All available from 1 June-October.
See the Tastemaker Films via facebook.com/greygoosersvp
Book your Taste By Appointment session at greygoosetaste.com
Download the Discover Your Personal Taste web app by logging on to greygoosetaste.com
