Hennessy is a classic French cognac with a rich history. It’s one of the most iconic cognac brands of all time, almost becoming the byword for this drink in the previous century. There are many variations of Hennessy cognacs, mostly involving alcohol concentration, flavors and age.

Meaning and History

Hennessy was established in 1765 in France by a retired officer named Richard Hennessy. Mr. Hennessy was an Irish emigrant who moved to France for political views. There, he served many years in the royal army, eventually leaving it and opening a distillery in Cognac.

1765 – today

The iconic ‘hatchet’ emblem is even older than the distillery. It’s Richard Hennessy’s own coat of arms, later turned the family coat of arms. It refers to his career in the French military. Depicted on it, is an arm clutching a war hatchet with a French lily in its blade. The coloring can be anything from black to golden to grey.

The other major part is the brand name, written below the emblem on the company logo and generally used for a label on the bottles. The name is written in a rather basic serif style, followed below by the smaller, thinner inscription that simply says ‘cognac. The coloring corresponds to the logo.

Emblem and Symbol

On the bottles, the brand name is usually featured alone, sometimes in the presence of the description of the particular cognac. The shapes of the label also differ. For instance, ‘X.O.’ has an oval shape, while ‘X.X.O’ doesn’t have a label at all, instead having the entire distillery logo printed into the glass.