Located in the Cognac region of France, the Hennessy cognac distillery was founded by Irishman Richard Hennessy in 1765, an Irish officer serving in the army of Louis XV.

Following a record of productive growth in France and surrounding European countries, Hennessy was first imported to America in 1794, nearly 30 years after it was born.

The exportation to America signaled the birth of the cognac as an international that is celebrated to this day. That international recognition was first registered by The Prince of Wales, later King George IV of Great Britain. Being a great connoisseur of cognac, the King asked Hennessy in 1817 to create a "very superior old pale cognac" - and the Hennessy V.S.O.P was created. The initials V.S.O.P - Very Superior Old Pale - have been used since then as a standard for the entire cognac industry.

A year later, Empress Maria Federovna of Russia asked Maison Hennessy to produce his cognac as a birthday present for her son Czar Alexander, and that was how Hennessy found its way to cold Russia.

Having assumed the status of a global brand, the need came up for Hennessy to have a widely recognized logo. The Cognac house deiced to go for an iconic fist clutching a hatchet as its official symbol in 1856. The symbol was used in memory of its founder Richard Hennessy's 12-year career with the French army.

In 1865, Maurice Hennessy, great-grandson of founder Richard Hennessy, began to classify the brand based on stars. His use of varying numbers of stars to designate different qualities, led to Hennessy's Three Star Cognac, today is known as V.S (Very Special). As with the V.S.O.P, this was copied by other brands in the industry.

Hennessy marked a significant feat in history when, in 1949, bottles of Hennessy 3-Star cognacs were packed as part of  Paul-Emilie Victor's luggage as he set out on his expedition to the Arctic. Right to say then that, Hennessy has journeyed from Cognac to the end of the world.

In the 1970s, Kilian Hennessy assumed office as the CEO of Hennessy and initiated the company's 1971 merger withMoët et Chandon, which created Moët Hennessy. Moet Hennesy merged with Louis Vuitton in 1987, and the Louis Vuitton Moët-Hennessy or LVMH was created - the world's biggest, luxury brand company.