The Hennessy brand is a French cognac distiller with its headquarters located in Cognac, France. Hennessy is the largest cognac producer, supplying more than 40% of the world’s cognac. The Company is owned by Moët Hennessy, which is in turn owned by LVMH and Diageo.
Hennessy cognac distillery was founded by an Irish military officer named Richard Hennessy in 1765. In 1813, Richard’s son, James Hennessy gave the company its new name Jas Hennessy & Co. Kilian Hennessy, a fifth-generation direct descendant of Hennessy became the new CEO during the 1970s when he succeeded his cousin Maurice Richard. Killian spearheaded the Company’s merger with Moet Chandon to create Moet Hennessy otherwise known as MH.
In 1987, Moet Hennessy merged with Louis Vuitton to create one of the world’s largest luxury brand conglomerates Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, also known as LVMH. Due to a management crisis in 1988, the group LVMH was taken over by Bernard Arnault, owner of the haute couture Christian Dior, with the support of Guinness. Killian Hennessy remained on the Company’s board until his death at age 103 in 2010.
Hennessy X.O was created by Maurice Hennessy in 1870 for his circle of friends. Hennessy X.O is one of the very first Cognacs to be classified as X.O or Extra Old because of its extended ageing process. Gerald de Geoffre designed the very first bottle of Hennessy X.O decanter in 1947 at the request of Maurice Hennesy. The design pays tribute to the pyramid-like forms of the grapes bunches that gave birth to the eaux-de-vie. Bottled at the standard 40% ABV.
The cognac Hennessy X.O was created by Maurice Hennessy in 1870 for his family and friends. Hennessy X.O is the Original, the emblematic icon of the House. Deep and powerful, the eaux-de-vie of this X.O cognac are aged in young barrels and marked out by their power, energy, and capacity to achieve a great roundness through time. This cognac can only be described as beautifully well-balanced with sweet notes, inviting warmth, a spicy edge, chocolate lull, and woody vanilla crunches.