Joe McCanta is an expert on taste. And now, as Global Ambassador for GREY GOOSE vodka, he brings together a passion for great cocktails made from freshest ingredients and the creative skill of a master mixologist.

A gifted jazz musician, Joe was raised in southern California before moving to Boston to study music at the New England Conservatory where he was taught by five-time Grammy nominee Fred Hersch. Working in restaurants whilst trying to establish a career as a jazz musician in New York, he happened to receive the best possible training as a sommelier from award winning wine expert Joshua Wesson. It was Joshua who taught Joe the art of matching food and wine – an essential skill for creating innovative and exciting new cocktails that tapped into Joe’s latent ability to identify complex flavours.

As a sommelier in one of New York’s most prestigious organic restaurants, Joe was inspired by the blossoming craft cocktail movement erupting in the Lower East Side, and spent his free time collaborating with chefs and mixologists to learn more about spirits and cocktails. Recognising the essential need for fresh ingredients in cocktail making, his devotion drove him upwards – to the roof-top of the restaurant – to grow and tend plants he could use in his own creations.

Joe went on to prove himself professionally by setting up his own consultancy. Offers of work took him to Istanbul (where he lived for 18 months), Moscow, Stockholm, Geneva, Munich and London where he caught the eye of GREY GOOSE with his Greenhouse Bar concept – a working bar with living plants that could deliver the ultimate in freshness and sustainability.

Since working with GREY GOOSE Joe has continued to pursue his interest in delivering bespoke taste experiences and is now established as a leading expert in this field- having been published globally as well as delivering master classes at trade shows including Tales of the Cocktail, Manhattan Cocktail Classic, the Berlin Bar Convent, and the London International Wine Fair. He has worked alongside world-famous chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Hélène Darroze, Nobu Matsuhisa, Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing and famed restaurant elBulli, to create truly memorable and unique flavour combinations. As Global Ambassador for GREY GOOSE he hopes to continue his pursuit to learn as much as he can about taste and the art of mixology as well as share his experiences around the world.