Inside Cognac's French Renaissance
The intrinsically French spirit has found more fans abroad than at home, but Hennessy could soon change that.

The first thing you notice upon entering the Hennessy Founder’s Cellar, the iconic cognac brand’s prime maturation facility, is the intoxicating smell of wood and dried fruit. The source is hundreds of French oak barrels full of eau-de-vie patiently aging in the dark. A little bit of cognac, known as the angel’s share, evaporates into the cool air as the liquid expands and contracts in and out of the wood over the years, perfuming the air in here.
Nestled on shelves near the barrels are glass demijohns filled with eau-de-vie, the oldest of which dates all the way back to 1800. A portion of this extra mature eau-de-vie will eventually make its way into Paradis Imperial, one of Hennessy’s ultra premium expressions.
Paradis Imperial is the creation of Yann Fillioux, a seventh generation Hennessy master blender who is now retired. His nephew, Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, has taken over the position, and heads the tasting committee that meets every weekday at 11 a.m. at the Hennessy headquarters in Cognac. He leads a panel that tastes 10,000 samples of eaux-de-vie each year to decide what liquid will eventually be blended into cognac. “The master blender is not a magician,” says de Gironde. “If you want to do this job, you need rigor, patience, and passion. If you have that, then you create a blend. There’s no luck.”
Cognac is hugely popular in the United States. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, in 2016 sales were up almost 13 percent from the previous year and have grown more than 50 percent over the past five years. VS and VSOP blends are most popular, but most cognac houses also release a few limited-edition, high-end expressions as well for those who wish to try something expensive and rare.
Cognac is meant to be sipped neat or on the rocks, but it is also an important ingredient in cocktails. “When you go back to the origins of cocktails, you find cognac as the preferred spirit in some of the iconic and original cocktail books,” says Jordan Bushell, Hennessy's national brand ambassador. “We are at a point in the cocktail world where classics are back in a big way.”
And many of these drinks, like the Sidecar, Sazerac, and the original Mint Julep, were made with cognac.
In France, however, cognac is not widely consumed. This seems counterintuitive, as it is an intrinsically French product, but nearly all the cognac distilled in France is exported. According to Hennessy ambassador Fabien Levieux, the reason for this is that the French have a stuffier concept of the spirit. “They consider it a drink to be enjoyed from a snifter in front of a fireplace on special occasions,” he says, and not something for everyday consumption. But the resurgence of cognac in cocktail culture may change this mindset in the future.
Paradis Imperial is truly a luxurious cognac. It comes in an elegant Baccarat crystal bottle that highlights the deep amber color of the liquid. De Gironde says that on average only ten out of every 10,000 eaux-de-vie will make it into this blend. “When you are picking eaux-de-vie for Paradis Imperial, you are searching for ones with amazing maturity combined with elegance,” he says. “Each eau-de-vie, like us, ages. It will improve [with age], but after a certain point it will decline.”
He explains that the eaux-de-vie blended into Paradis Imperial is liquid that has matured in old French oak, as opposed to new barrels. This means that instead of becoming the dominant flavor component, the oak helps to “support the natural potential and develop true elegance.” The result is a rich cognac with deep, complex flavors of almond, orange, and vanilla, with a silky mouth feel.
For de Gironde, Paradis Imperial is perhaps the most exquisite Hennessy expression yet. But that doesn’t mean that he is resting on his laurels. “My expertise is my passion for quality,” he says. “One thing that’s always in my mind is, we did something good today, but can we do better [tomorrow]?”
Here are some other premium cognac expressions available now:

Hardy L’ete
This high-end cognac release is the most recent entry in Hardy’s Four Seasons series, representing the summer. The cognac comes in a Lalique crystal decanter, and is said to showcase flavors of apricot and honey that bring to mind the warmer months. The liquid found within is a blend of six eaux-de-vie selected between WWI and WWII by Armand Hardy, grandson of the brand’s founder. Hardy practices what it calls “haute couture philosophy,” working with companies like Lalique and Cristallerie Daum to create beautiful vessels in which to house its rarest cognac.
$15,900, ahardyusa.com

Louis XIII Legacy
Louis XIII is made up of a blend of 1,200 eaux-de-vie, some of which are close to a century old. The Legacy Limited Edition Magnum expression was released in a run of just 500 decanters worldwide. Each bottle differs slightly from the others, but all were signed by the four living Louis XIII cellar masters. The current cellar master is Baptiste Loiseau, who was one of the youngest ever to hold the title when he took over in 2014. The cognac is described as having hints of wildflower, lime, and pear on the palate.
$15,000, louisxiii-cognac.com

Courvoisier L’Essence
This premium cognac is a blend of liquid from the early 1900s along with more recent eaux-de-vie from the past few decades. It was former master blender Jean-Marc Olivier’s final project before his retirement, and was aged in a variety of French oak barrels instead of just Limousin oak. The flavor is described as having notes of cigar, marzipan, and honey.
$3,500, courvoisier.com

Pierre Ferrand Abel
This is a special cognac from Pierre Ferrand, part of the Maison Ferrand family of spirits. It’s a limited-edition bottling made from a blend of eaux-de-vie aged between 25 and 50 years, although the brand is more concerned with flavor profile than touting its age. The color of the liquid is bright gold tinged with red. Bright fruit odors like pear and fig are evident on the nose, while the palate is said to be more intense and sweet with flavors like toffee and caramel shining through.
$550, pierreferrandcognac.com

D’usse XO
The eau-de-vie in this bottle was aged for a minimum of ten years in French oak barrels before being blended into D’usee’s most premium expression. Look for notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, and ripe apricot on the palate. The striking black bottle features the Cross of Lorraine on the front, a familiar French symbol that represents courage. Count Jay-Z as a D’usse fan—he mentions it in the song “Drunk in Love.”
$230, dusse.com

Hine Bonneuil 2006
The Hine cognac house is over 250 years old, and today the liquid is imported into the U.S. by San Francisco’s Anchor Distilling Company. This 2006 vintage is the result of some unique weather phenomenon. That year saw heat waves followed by intense rainstorms, yielding eaux-de-vie with big fruit and toasted bread notes, according to the Hine cellar master. Nineteen casks of this 2006 vintage were bottled and made available in the U.S. just this past spring.
$139.99, anchordistilling.com
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