The youngest son cadet of an Irish lord, Richard Hennessy settled in the town of Cognac in 1765, on the banks of the Charente River, to establish a trading-firm specialised in eaux-de-vie. Embarking on the conquest of high society, he selected the best eaux-de-vie, letting them improve with time in his warehouse to make Cognacs of high-quality.

They are produced from Ugni Blanc, a variety that is particularly happy in this region, yielding light and fruity wines, ideal for distillation.

To guaranty the quality of its Cognacs, Hennessy uses exclusively eaux-de-vie of the first four vintages to obtain the eaux-de-vie de coeur (heart) which age in French oak barrels. Hennessy has the greatest reserve of old eaux-de-vie (50 years old). Some of them are even over 200 years old. While ageing, about 2% of the acohol evaporates, this part is nicely dubbed « the Angels’ Share ».

The secret of the blending and ageing of the Hennessy Cognac has been transmitted from Master blender to Master blender over 7 generations of the legendary Fillioux family.