From Wine Connoisseur to Vodka Pioneer: An Interview with Idôl’s President Jean-Charles Boisset

By SexHerald Staff

Having been raised in a family of fine French grape cultivators, Jean-Charles Boisset knows quality. With the advent of his brainchild, Idôl Vodka, Boisset attempts to blend artistry and a longstanding tradition of winemaking to create an entirely new concoction to kick our taste buds awake after a long slumber from the grain and potato varieties. But unlike most newfangled ideas and trendy fads, there’s a sneaky suspicion longevity is lurking behind the pretty bottle.

SexHerald: What is the concept behind Idôl Vodka?

Jean-Charles Boisset: What we wanted to do is basically produce a superior quality, an absolutely phenomenal vodka made out of the best, most luxurious, two ingredients on Earth. And there’s only one that’s a multicultural product that is high end, which is basically grapes. We went even further and selected grapes that come from Burgundy, which is where we’re from, which are the most demanded and exclusive grapes on Earth. So we said, ‘What’s most important in any vodka today, as with wine historically, was the originality of the product, the quality of the ingredient, and how it’s made.’ Because it’s one thing to pay $25, $30, $40 or $50 for a product, but it’s another to have the finest ingredients possible on Earth. So we said, ‘Well what’s more important than the packaging—the glass, the fancy presentation—IS the liquid itself.’

So, we really spent seven years of making and research to produce this very delicate, this very round, this very opulent, this great bouquet, and long-lasting finish vodka called Idôl to actually enjoy. It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of work, but at least the end result is really there. There’s no alcohol smell and aftertaste; it’s very soft; it’s very rich; it’s very dense, and it’s very delicate.

SH: You have an interesting tagline: The wine lovers’ vodka.

Boisset: Obviously, we don’t want to attract only the wine lovers. We said that originally because some people may be surprised it comes from grapes. When you think of grapes, you think either mythology, Roman times or the most luxurious thing on earth—you think of wine. What we wanted to do—it’s why we called it a wine lover’s vodka—is minimize the harshness of a lot of different vodkas when you taste them. It’s very harsh, and it’s very alcoholic. What we wanted to achieve here was something really which would seduce you by its appeal, its bouquet, as well as its roundness. So you can drink it pure, like after a meal or even before, or you can drink it mixed. And when mixed, it’s very good because usually when you mix Idôl Vodka with another fruit, it’s much better than mixing grain and fruit, as you can imagine.

One of the ways I personally drink it lately is I put Idôl Vodka in a shaker—you don’t shake it; you stir. It’s important not to shake it, but to stir it gently. Then pour it into a martini glass, if you wish, or into a wine glass and you can really delicately taste its fullness, roundness, its richness. You don’t need to use vermouth. Vermouth has always been used to keep the alcohol bite; here, you don’t have any bite. This is really why we went the route of grapes because we knew grapes—our background is winemaking. We said, ‘Grapes can certainly bring more gentleness, more richness, and more characteristics of roundness than any other products on earth. This is why wine is what it is and spirits are what they are.

It’s quite a lot of fun. We harvest the grapes, take care of them for 12 months. Then for 60 days, we make wine. Then we distill it seven times; we filter it five times. Then we add Burgundy water, which is very unique. Burgundy used to be covered by water few million years ago. So we have a very, very pure water; we add water to bring the alcohol level down from 96 proof to 80 proof. Then we gently let it rest for a while, and we slowly bottle it. The process is extremely delicate; it takes 17 months to produce—just like fine wine.

SH: Since it takes a long time for the finished product to come out, how much do you actually ship out in a year?

Boisset: Only 18,000 cases. So, it’s a very small production. Every year, we have a harvest; so, we’re not excessive in our production volume. We want to keep it small, exclusive, nicely done. It’s more important for us to do that rather than to just sell pieces.

SH: Do you recommend drinking Idôl chilled?

Boisset: Absolutely. When I have people at home, I keep one in the freezer and one outside. I typically take it out of the freezer, serve it in a champagne flute or wine glass. The wine glass shape allows it to release the perfumes, the flavors, and gives it fullness. It’s also very elegant, and at the same time it gives you great flavors and aroma. Another way to drink it is to put a little champagne and raspberry cassis or just champagne and Idôl.

SH: Why did you decide to call it “Idôl?”

Boisset: For one very simple reason. I grew up in a very small village in Burgundy called Vougeot, which is very well known for wine. Being born there, you learn very quickly that in Burgundy there’s nothing much but vineyards and food; and nice people, of course, very passionate people. We’ve always idolized our vineyards. It’s the first thing you see in the morning when you wake up, and we’re really proud of having the vineyards forever, and it’s the reputation of the region. The vineyards are our idol. We idolize our vineyards; we idolize our vodka. That’s how the name came about.

There’s nothing better than grapes in terms of agriculture. The biggest amount of care you give to any agricultural product is grapes. It’s very labor-intensive work. We spend 11 months working very closely and diligently with the vineyards, and it’s the most handcrafted, multicultural product ever. I’m not leading a crusade against potato and grains, but it’s certainly not the height of refinement. Life is too short to drink things we don’t like.

We use masculine grapes and feminine grapes, so both sexes are combined together. What I mean by that is you have the density and richness of a Chardonnay and you have the finesse and the bouquet of a pinot noir. Using both creates an interesting sex appeal. It’s really the makeup of a finer champagne with the combination of a white grape with a red grape. So, that’s what’s been fun for us all.

SH: Your multicultural background seems to play a heavy role in creating something new. Is there a new product in the works that you’ll be releasing soon?

Boisset: We are working on it as we speak. We’re going to introduce in six months something pretty cool—something that combines both cultures.