Hennessy
Co-leader of LVMH | |
Founded | 1765 |
Founder | Richard Hennessy |
Headquarters |
1, rue de la Richonne BP 20, 16101 Cognac France |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bernard Peillon, Chairman & CEO; Boris de Vroomen, International Director |
Products | Cognac |
Revenue | €954.2 million (2012) |
Parent |
LVMH (66%) Diageo (34%) |
Website | Hennessy.com |
Jas Hennessy & Co., or more simply Hennessy, is a cognac house with headquarters in Cognac, France. Today, the company of Jas Hennessy & Co. sells about 50 million bottles a year worldwide, or more than 40 percent of the world’s Cognac, making it the world's largest Cognac producer. It is owned by Moët Hennessy, which is co-owned by LVMH (66%) and Diageo (34%).
History
The Hennessy cognac distillery was founded by Irishman Richard Hennessy in 1765.[1] During the 1970s, Kilian Hennessy, a fifth generation direct descendent of Hennessy, became the CEO of Hennessy, succeeding his first cousin Maurice-Richard.[1] Kilian Hennessy spearheaded the company's 1971 merger with Moët et Chandon, which created Moët Hennessy.[1]
Moët Hennessy merged with Louis Vuitton in 1987, creating one of the world's largest luxury brand conglomerates, Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton or LVMH. In 1988, a management crisis led to the group's takeover by Bernard Arnault, owner of the haute couture house Christian Dior, with the support of Guinness.[1] Kilian Hennessy remained on the company's advisory board until his death in 2010 at the age of 103.[1]
Marketing
Recent innovations include trying to broaden the appeal of the drink beyond its traditional base of older drinkers, by introducing new products such as "Pure White", "Hennessy Black"[2] and "Fine de Cognac" and marketing them accordingly.[3]
In 2009, a limited edition bottle of Hennessy VS was released in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States of America. The bottle featured a black label with gold lettering. The circle seal towards the base of the neck featured a large 44, the phrase "In Honor of the 44th President" and the date of President Obama's inauguration. A percentage of the proceeds made from the sales of the limited edition bottles will go towards the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Products
- Hennessy Black
- Hennessy White
- Hennessy V.S
- Privilége V.S.O.P
- Fine de Cognac
- Hennessy X.O
- Deutschland Moet Hennessy
- Pure White
- Private Reserve
- Hennessy Paradis
- Hennessy Diptyque
- Richard Hennessy
- Timeless (2000 units produced)
- Ellipse (2000 units produced)
- Beauté du Siècle (100 units produced, in chest)
- Hennessy VVVV (1860)
- Hennessy No.1
- Hennessy Silver Jubilee (1977)
- Hennessy First Landing 1868
- Hennessy Prive (Travel Retail Exclusive)
- Hennessy Library decanter
Collectors bottles
Collector bottle | Year released | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hennessy VS "44" | 2009 | Honor of 44th president | |
Hennessy VS "NUL" | 2010 | National Urban League | |
Hennessy VS "BOA" | 2010 | Blending of Art (five different bottles with two designers per) | |
Hennessy VS "KAWS" | 2011 | New York graffiti artist KAWS design | |
Hennessy Fine De Cognac and Tea | 2011 | Tea House Maison de Thé Théodor | |
Hennessy VSOP Helios | 2011 | Gold Bottle (named after Greek god of sun) | |
Hennessy VSOP "NyX" | 2011 | Platinum bottle (label glows under black light) | |
Hennessy VSOP Kyrios | 2012 | Black bottle (3D label) | |
Hennessy VSOP Depuis | 2013 | Red bottle | |
Hennessy XO Odyssey | 2007–11 | Released every year since 2007 (2011 bottle sits on rock formation) | |
Hennessy Kenzo | 1997–99 | Fashion designer Kenzo (subsidiary of LVMH) | [n 1] |
Hennessy Red Book | 2011 | Levandovka filling | |
Hennessy X Futura | 2012 | New York graffiti artist Futura | |
Hennessy Luminous | 2013 | Brand name on label has luminous glow |
Hennessy Literary Awards
Hennessy sponsors the New Irish Writing competition in the Irish Independent, and the associated annual Hennessy Literary Award, that has launched such Irish writers as Joseph O'Connor, Dermot Bolger, Patrick McCabe, Colum McCann, Frank McGuinness, Anne Enright, Hugo Hamilton, Dermot Healy and Neil Jordan.[4][5][6]
In culture
American rappers, such as 2Pac, have made references to the consumption of Hennessy in their songs. In 2014, Hennessy VS sponsored The Rap Monument produced primarily by Hudson Mohawke, which includes several references to the consumption of Cognac.
Hennessy was the favorite drink of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. Hennessy once reported that Kim spent over $700,000 a year on Paradis cognac.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Produced for the Australian, Hong Kong, Indonesian, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and United States market. Around 18000 bottles were then produced, with the blue version launched in 1997 and the yellow one in 1999.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Cognac magnate Kilian Hennessy dies at 103". Agence France Presse. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ↑ "Introducing Hennessy Black", cocktailenthusiast.com, 2 June 2010; retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ↑ Hein, Kenneth. "Cognac is in the house", allbusiness.com, 22 September 2003; accessed 8 November 2014.
- ↑ Vanessa O'Loughlin, "New Irish Writing", Writing.ie; accessed 8 November 2014.
- ↑ "Your chance to join the ranks of our best writers", independent.ie, 24 March 2012.
- ↑ "New home for New Irish Writing and the Hennessy Award", Writing4all.ie; accessed 8 November 2014.
- ↑ Paul Fischer (2015). A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power. Flatiron Books. p. 169.
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