History 
Henessy Cognac was founded by Richard Hennessy, an Irishman who was born in 1724. He moved to the Charente in 1745 and served in the French army for 12 years in order to gain French citizenship. It is for this reason that Hennessy adopted the “bras armé” as their symbol.
After his stint in the army, Richard Hennessy moved to Belgium to work with an uncle selling cognac among many other items, including goat skins. In the late 18th century he returned to France and fought with the Gardes Nationaux during the revolution, which eventually helped him to escape the guillotine.
The founders cellar was built in 1774, but not by Richard Hennessy, and not for cognac. It was originally used to store pottery, which is why it is called La Faïencerie. This property was bought by the house of Hennessy in the 19th century for use as a cellar.
In 1786, the first master blender was hired, Jean Fillioux. Until this time, it was the tradition for the coopers to blend the cognacs as well. It was not until a century later, however, that the taste for long-aged cognacs came into fashion, and Hennessy XO was the first to be introduced, by Maurice Hennessy in 1870. This was sold in post-phylloxera times as “extremely old” since it provided provenance valuable at the time to combat fraud.
Other important dates for the house of Hennessy include:
1794 - First sale in New Amsterdam
1804 - First order for cognac in bottle
1808 - Order from the Spanish court
1817 - George IV of England orders VSOP
1828 - Export to St. Petersburg
1830 - Hennessy leads trend towards bottling
1850 - Introduction of the “bras armé” or VS
1860 - Export to Calcutta and Havana
1829 - First advertising
1902 - James Hennessy travels to Australia and India to promote his cognac
1911 - End of shipping in cask
1922 - Hennessy changes US agents from blackbird to Schieffelin
1947 - QA/QC lab created
1971 - Creation of Moët Hennessy
1987 - Creation of LVMH
The five key values of Hennessy include:
1. Partnership
2. Excellence
3. Sensuality
4. Authenticity
5. Multiculturalism
The five key selling points of Hennessy are:
1. It is made of grapes and wine
2. Distillation concentrates the best aromas (does not make it more neutral)
3. The cognac is blended by a master blender belonging to the seventh generation of the same family
4. Hennessy has the largest stock of rare EDV in the world
5. Hennessy controls all aspects of production to assure top quality.
Positioning
Hennessy is the world’s largest producer of cognac, and supplies its needs partly through a 200 ha vineyard that it owns. This provides only a tiny fraction of its needs, however, and is mostly used to perfect the techniques of grape and wine production that it wishes to pass on to its suppliers.
Crafting Hennessy
The majority of the raw material used by Hennessy is acquired in the form of eaux de vie, either aged (80% of purchases) or unaged (20% of purchases). These eaux de vie are purchased from 1700 suppliers throughout the region, and Hennessy purchases roughly 50% of the production of the entire region.
Eaux de vie management and supply consists of making the rounds of the entire region to find those parcels worthy to produce Hennessy. This work helps provide the assurance of balance in Hennessy Cognac, since it assures the right supply to provide different elements from different regions and of different ages for blending.
Key elements in the management of the source and quality of our eaux de vie include the maintenance of a partnership with the individual growers and an insightful knowledge of the qualities of different cognacs. Not all houses want to purchase the highest quality eaux de vie, since they are the most expensive; and not all buyers are capable of recognizing the highest quality eaux de vie.
Prices are fixed by each house. Hennessy fixes on their own the prices that they offer to their supplies in function of the quality of the eaux de vie, and these prices are not negotiable, although they are the best prices in the region – this is the chief way of assuring a quality supply.
Hennessy produces its Cognac only from the top four subregions of the district: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, and Fins Bois, and the house directly oversees every step in the production of its cognacs, from grape growing to wine production to distillation and aging. They source their own wood for barrels and employ their own coopers to make them.
Hennessy has the largest store of aging cognac for blending of any producer, with a capacity of a quarter million casks.
Hennessy is a two million case brand, and is the number one selling cognac in the US, with 55% of the market.
– Hennessy is the number one cognac brand in the US and in the world
– The first shipment to the US occurred over 200 years ago
– 2 Million cases were sold in 2004
– In 2003 and 2004, Hennessy was recognized by IMPACT as one of eight blue-chip spirit brands that consistently deliver outstanding growth and profit
Hennessy Key Selling Points
Hennessy is the #1 selling cognac in the U.S. and the world
This recognition means that Hennessy enjoyed unparalleled consumer recognition, facilitating sell-through and consumer satisfaction.
Hennessy is blended from the top four crus
This diversity gives Hennessy great complexity, and also ensures that it is drinking at its peak, since eaux-de-vies from Grande & Petite Champagne are not suitable for VS and VSOP styles because they require long aging.
Hennessy has unique distillation experience and control
Each batch of wine is distilled in the most appropriate way, and each eau-de-vie is aged in the most appropriate way, concentrating the best qualities of the wine
Hennessy is aged in the best casks
Most of the casks come from the world’s best cooper – Taransaud. This quality ensures optimal taste and smoothness
Hennessy has the finest selection of old eaux-de-vie in the world
No other producer can match the complexity or depth of Hennessy – these old eaux-de-vie are the essence of quality
Hennessy has been run by 8 generations of Hennessys along with 7 generations of master distillers from the Fillioux family
This continuity gives the cognac unequalled consistency of style and quality.
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