🥃 Hennessy

If you know Hennessy from a bar shelf or a V.S bottle, here is what the name stands for: a cognac house in the town of Cognac, in the French department of Charente, founded in 1765 by Richard Hennessy, an Irish officer living in exile in France. Today the house is part of Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of the LVMH group, in which the British company Diageo holds 34%.

According to LVMH, Richard Hennessy and his son James established what would become the standard in the cognac industry. The house entrusts the blending and tasting of its eaux-de-vie to the Fillioux family: Renaud Fillioux de Gironde represents the eighth generation of master blenders. In 1870 Maurice Hennessy created the X.O cognac, a designation that has since become a general age mark.

Like any cognac, Hennessy is made under the AOC Cognac rules: white wine from grapes grown in the region is distilled twice in a copper Charentais pot still and aged in oak barrels for at least two years. The master blender combines eaux-de-vie of different ages and origins. According to LVMH, the house works with about 1,600 winegrowing partners, has its own 180-hectare vineyard, and in 1998 became the first spirits house to receive ISO 14001 certification.

The house's main cognacs are named after age designations: in V.S the youngest eau-de-vie is at least 2 years old, in V.S.O.P at least 4, and in X.O at least 10. There are also older blends, such as Paradis.

Why it matters to you. V.S, V.S.O.P and X.O are not brand names but age designations shared by all cognac: the years are counted by the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend. The word “Cognac” on the label guarantees origin in a defined region around the town of Cognac and double distillation. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.