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Hennessy Black, Cognac With Its Own Song

Filed under: Spirits


Cognac sales may be slowing for some brands but Hennessy isn't letting that dissuade them from the launch of Hennessy Black in 10 markets throughout the US. In addition to having a dramatic black bottle designed by French design consultancy Curius it's also different inside. The Hennessy Black is a blend of 35 to 45 pale and gold colored eaux-de-vie selected for their floral characteristics and aged in French oak barrels previously used by Hennessy for at least five years. Although the name might lead you to expect a darker, richer cognac, the Hennessy Black is said to have a more gentle wood influence with floral notes and hints of citrus and honey. Suggested recipes include serving it with a dash of lemon juice and simple sugar, with coffee liqueur and cola, with fresh ginger, simple syrup and lemon juice or Royale style with champagne, a dash of lemon juice and simple syrup. The cognac also already has its own song, "When I Step Into the Club" from Swizz Beatz." which will be performed for the first time at a launch event on May 5.

Hennessy 44 Celebrates 44th President

Filed under: Spirits

Hennessy Cognac gets in on the Obama hoopla with a limited edition cognac. The collector-edition, individually numbered bottle sells for around $30. A percentage of proceeds being donated to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund which awards scholarships to students attending historically Black colleges. A total of 180,000 bottles were produced and will be sold primarily in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Illinois, New York City, and Georgia. Like NY Magazine's Grub Street, we're pretty sure Barack Obama isn't a Hennessy man. Grub Street hopes he's a whisky man. If so, he's in luck, Scotland has extended an invitation for Barack Obama to attend a Burns Night supper in Washington D.C.

Harrods' $7,500 Holiday Hamper

Filed under: Dining, Spirits, Wine


Famed deluxe London department store Harrods came out with the ultimate holiday hamper this season, described as the "very best money can buy." Only eight of the extravagant Chairman's Choice hampers were made available by special order at about $7,500 apiece. Presented in an exclusively designed, limited edition handmade basket with leather trim, the hamper's contents include fruit, flowers, farmed smoked salmon, a truffle ham, half a Stilton cheese, double cream brie, and of course heaps of Beluga caviar. Drinks-wise, there's 30-year-old Macallan single malt Scotch, Krug champagne, Hennessy cognac, and several bottles of wine including the famous Chateau d'Yquem.

[via JustLuxe]

The Classicist: LVMH's Distinctive Vintages

Filed under: Spirits, Wine, Books, The Classicist

French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH is best known for its marquee property Louis Vuitton, but the company has also amassed the world's most amazing collection of top-class wine and spirits brands under its Moët Hennessy group. The incomparable portfolio is celebrated in a suitably lavish new book called Distinctive Vintages ($200, right) just out from Flammarion.

Moët Hennessy owns too many luxury brands to list, but to name a few: Hennessy Cognac; Moët & Chandon, luxe Dom Pérignon, Krug and Veuve Clicquot champagnes; Belvedere and Chopin vodkas; Glenmorangie and deliciously smoky Ardbeg single malt Scotch whiskies; and the famed Chateau d'Yquem wine, synonymous with the finest money can buy.

The book focuses on the collection of fine French wines and spirits, personified in three regions that are "as noble as they are prestigious": Cognac, the ancestral birthplace of Hennessy; Champagne, home Dom Pérignon and its confreres; and Bordeaux, graced by the magical Château d'Yquem. It offers both a practical guide to the three regions as well as an explanation of the different vintages and results produced by the famed houses.




Exclusive Ltd. Edition Hennessy Sneakers by Jhung Yuro

Filed under: Spirits, Shoes


Hip luxury lifestyle brand Jhung Yuro has created an exclusive new limited edition sneaker for world renowned cognac house Hennessy. Dubbed the Hennessy Celebration Hi-Top, the brown and cream (like the bottle) sneaker is made from soft full grain leather with a suede tongue and vamp, napa pigskin interior and a croc embossed overlay and strap. It also has a non-marking rubber midsole and crepe rubber outsole with a leather logo patch. Only 500 handmade pairs of the limited edition shoe will be available for sale beginning Dec. 1 for $300 at Jhung Yuro's (pronounced "young Euro") website. Each pair will come packaged in a custom lizard skin embossed shoebox with a braided rope handle. The cognac is extra.

Liquor Exec: Top Shelf Sales Will Hold Steady

Filed under: Spirits

With the economy in its current state of disrepair, you'd think the premium liquor sector would be getting a little worried wondering whether people will continue to shell out for the good stuff. No doubt it's a big topic of discussion at Tales of the Cocktail, the big industry fest currently taking place in New Orleans. We asked one attendee, Rob Bryans of top-shelf 10 Cane Rum, for his thoughts on the subject. Premium liquor remains a "must-have" for consumers, he insists, despite the added strain on purchasing power.

Bryans, the brand's VP, says that 10 Cane for one insulated itself from market forces to some extent by striving for an excellence that consumers would consider indispensable. The "luxury rum" is made from the first pressing of virgin Trinidadian sugar cane in place of the molasses, a sugar byproduct, used by most others, and the process is overseen by Jean Pinneau, the Master Distiller of Hennessy in France. "Every step of the production process is painstakingly geared towards quality," Bryans tells Luxist. "This is an artisanal approach to rum making."

Instead of worrying about the economy 10 Cane is focusing on new ways of marketing its brand, such as the deluxe Mojito Kit they've come out with for summer, featuring a mixer from our personal favorite, Stirrings. Sounds like good business practice to us; there's nothing like a great drink for a temporary respite from economic pressures.

Gallery: 10 Cane Rum

The bottle10 Cane Mojito Kit10 Cane ad campaign imageExtracting cane juicePot still

Hennessy Beaute du Siecle Cognac

Filed under: Spirits


Hennessy's latest deluxe offering, the Beaute du Siecle, has been making rounds at luxury affairs lately. This impressive display was designed by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Ten different artists collaborated on the chest which is made from melted aluminum and mirrored glass. It has a bronze key and at the press of a button the bottle rises up on a tray. The bottle is Baccarat crystal and set in a metal lattice designed by Guerlain. It contains the Beauté du Siècle Hennessy Cognac, a limited edition blend that was blended by cellar master Yann Fillioux from Hennessy reserves, which are up to 100 years old with the youngest being 47 years. One chest has already been presented to Killian Hennessy as a birthday present, and another was donated to Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS charity and auctioned for $200,000 earlier this year.


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