Hennessy , a part of the international luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton since 1987, is the largest cognac producer in the world, with over 40 percent of the market. Its iconic label, bearing the family’s coat of arms and a grapevine wreath, hints at a rich heritage. The house dates back to 1765, when Irishman Richard Hennessy (1727–1800) launched a brandy exporting business. By the mid-1800s, it was the leading cognac producer, a status it has never lost. In 1852, it alone was responsible for nearly 25 percent of all cognac sold. It was also one of the pioneers in the move from sales by the cask to by the bottle, a process that was accelerated in the 1870s by the collapse of the bulk brandy business due to phylloxera. In the 1870s, Hennessy was, with Martell, one of the pioneers in classifying its products by the number of stars on the label, with one star meaning six years old, two stars nine and three stars twelve (Hennessy claims to have invented the system, but evidence is contradictory). With degradation of the ages over time, this system became the industry standard until the 1960s, when it was replaced by the current system of VS, VSOP, XO, and the like. In fact, the designation XO was a Hennessy one as well, introduced in 1870 for an “extra old” blend of one hundred eaux-de-vie aged over forty years. See xo.
In the modern era, the brand has taken a decidedly hip and urban turn, organizing traveling photo exhibitions, partnering with artists such as Shepard Fairey to create limited-edition bottles, and collaborating with hip-hop stars like the Roots, Nas, and Mobb Deep. And while its entry-level cognacs have declined in age since the nineteenth century, as have those of its competitors, the company still bottles a number of very well-regarded, and expensive, older blends, produced under the supervision of the Fillioux family, its master blenders since 1800. While the company does some of its own distilling, it functions primarily as a negociant, buying raw or partially matured spirits from hundreds of winegrower-distillers and finishing and blending them in its own vast warehouses.
See also cognac; Courvoisier; eau-de-vie; Martell; and Rémy Martin.
Faith, Nicholas. Cognac. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2004.
“Hennessy Legacy.” Hennessy website. http://www.hennessy.com/us/250/ (accessed on February 15, 2021).
“Some Very Interesting Information Showing How the Seven Ages of Hennessy’s Brandy Can Be Employed” (advertisement). London Times, December 1, 1906, 13.
By: Alia Akkam