Cognac

Despite its long history as a French company, Hennessy Cognac was actually founded by an Irishman, Richard Hennessy, who was born in 1724. Hennessy moved to the Charente region 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 time in the army, Hennessy moved to Belgium to work with his uncle, a trader. Together, they sold cognac and many other items. Richard Hennessy decided to start his own distillery and founded the house of Hennessy in 1765. Until then, it was customary that barrel coopers were also blenders of cognacs, but in 1786, Hennessy hired Jean Fillioux to be its first master blender. The Fillioux family has carried on a legacy as the blenders of Hennessy cognac since this time. Its current blender, Yann Fillioux represents its seventh generation of blenders at Hennessy. Hennessy died in 1800, leaving the distillery to his son James who named the company Jas Hennessy & Co. in 1813.

The building that would eventually become Hennessy Cognac’s Founders Cellar was originally built in 1774 as a potter’s storage facility, giving it the name La Fainencerie. The house of Hennessy purchased the property to be used as a cellar for its cognac.

It wasn’t until 1870 that well-aged cognacs became fashionable and Maurice Hennessy, grandson to James, introduced Hennessy XO, a cognac originally created exclusively for the Hennessy family. This was sold in post-phylloxera times as “extremely old” since it was able to prove its valuable provenance at a time when the industry was fraught with 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

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Hennessy is the number one selling cognac in the US, with 55% of the market, and is the world’s largest producer of cognac. The company's 200 hectares of estate vineyards provide a tiny fraction of its needs, so the rest of the base wines and eaux de vie for production come from other outstanding suppliers in the region.

Hennessy has been run by eight generations of Hennessys along with seven generations of master distillers from the Fillioux family. This continuity gives the cognac unequalled consistency of style and quality.

Hennessy, like all cognac, is made starting with an eau de vie. Eau de vie (which means 'water of life') is the distilled base wine used to produce brandy. Hennessy’s eaux de vie are acquired, 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 around 50% of the production of the entire region.

Hennessy’s blenders scour the entire Cognac region to find the very best parcels worthy of going into Hennessy. This purchasing provides the assurance of balance in Hennessy Cognac, since it enables the House to find all of the necessary elements of aromas, flavor and texture that define the Hennessy style.

Hennessy prides itself on strong relationships with the individual growers, as well as an insightful understanding of the important qualities required for first-rate cognacs. Not all houses want to purchase the highest quality eaux de vie, since they are the most expensive. Not all buyers are capable of recognizing the highest quality eaux de vie with the best potential for making outstanding cognac.

Prices paid for eaux de vie are determined by each individual cognac house. Hennessy sets the price offered to potential suppliers based on the quality of the eaux de vie. It offers the best prices in the region for the highest quality supply.

Hennessy produces its cognac from the top four subregions of the Cognac district: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, and Fins Bois. This diversity gives Hennessy its great complexity, and also ensures that it is drinking at its peak. Eaux-de-vies from Grande & Petite Champagne are not used in VS and VSOP styles because they require longer aging than those from the other regions.

The House oversees every step in the production of its cognacs, from grape growing to wine production to distillation and aging. It sources its own wood for barrels and employs its own coopers to make them. Most of its barrels come from the world’s top cooperage, Taransaud.

Hennessy has the largest collection of aging cognac of any producer, with a capacity of a quarter-million casks. These aged brandies are invaluable in the blending process, giving each bottle of Hennessy structure, consistency and a strong connect to its past.

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Hennessy Black is the newest innovation from the house of Hennessy. This blend was designed to be a super smooth and versatile cognac. The eaux-de-vie that comprise the blend are aged for up to 8 years, leaving the cognac a pale gold color with alluring floral notes. Hennessy Black is a great entry point for a new cognac drinker.

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