Hennessy

Jas Hennessy & Cie., commonly known simply as Hennessy (French pronunciation: [ɛnɛsi]), is a French producer of cognac, founded in 1765 by Richard Hennessy which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the best-known cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together make around 45% of the world's cognac. Hennessy sells approximately 102 million bottles of its cognacs per year, making it the world's largest cognac producer, and in 2017 its sales represented around 60% of the US cognac market. As well as distilling cognac eaux-de-vie itself, the company also acts as a négociant. The brand is owned by Moët Hennessy since a champagne & cognac merger in the early seventies, which is in turn owned by LVMH (66%) and Diageo (34%), with Diageo acting as a controlling shareholder. Hennessy pioneered several industry-standard practices in the world of cognac, and its association as a luxury good with luxury status symbols has made it a regular point of reference in popular culture, especially in the music of hip-hop culture.