Hennessy V.S. Cognac =PINT= 375ml

Hennessy traces its roots to 1765, when Richard Hennessy, an Irish officer who had served in the French army, settled with his family in the Charente region and opened a trading house with backing from Paris bankers. His Irish background gave him an edge in dealing with British buyers at a time when the spirits trade was booming, and the house he founded has since grown into the world's largest cognac producer. V.S traces its lineage to the original Hennessy Three-Star, first created in 1865.

The blend draws on more than forty different eaux-de-vie, selected by a tasting committee before final assembly by eighth-generation master blender Renaud Fillioux de Gironde. The spirits are aged a minimum of two years in French Limousin oak that has first been left outdoors for several seasons, a step meant to soften bitterness and encourage a natural vanilla sweetness before the wood ever touches the cognac.

Hennessy V.S pours a deep copper with amber reflections and opens with toasted oak, leather, and a touch of vanilla. The palate is rugged and spiced, built around cinnamon, clove, and baked apple with dried fruit running throughout, finishing with a moderately long, warming close. It works equally well sipped neat or as the backbone of a classic cognac cocktail.