Courvoisier Logo

Courvoisier is a popular brand of luxury cognac from France. It’s particularly famous as the ‘the cognac of Napoleon’, the moniker that originated from the story where the Emperor started giving his troops the Courvoisier cognac to lift their esprit de corps. However it may be, this brand is counted amongst the best.

Meaning and History

The history of this cognac house started in 1809 when one Emmanuel Courvoisier decided to open up the cognac-making business in the Paris area. It wasn’t until 1828 that the business was legitimized as a cognac house, although the legendary reputation was made prior to that, when Emperor Napoleon visited the distillery in 1811.

1909 – 1988

Although the drink had various emblems beforehand, none have been properly archived. The first record of the continuous Courvoisier logo appeared in 1909. It was just the brand name written in the ordinary, sans-serif letters. They were rather squat and somewhat bold – perfect for the bottle decoration.

1988 – today

The new 1988 logo was more elegant. It employed a serif type with curvy contours and generally uneven and fluid lines. The idea was the same – it was the brand name written in big capital letters. The colors are usually either grey or black. They also often put the slogan below, it says: ‘Le Cognac de Napoleon’ in thin cursive letters.

Emblem and Symbol

Another image introduced in the 80s was the silhouette of Napoleon himself (above waist), wearing his usual clothes and keeping one hand inside his coat. When they used this one, they usually put him above the logo proper. That being said, it’s not used all the time, just commonly.