Latest news with #HennessyParadis
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Paradise Found: From Cognac To Colorado, A Taste Of Paradis In Aspen
The Paradis Suite at St Regis Aspen Resort The house of Hennessy has created a rare opportunity for cognac aficionados to be fully immersed in the world of Hennessy Paradis through a collaboration with the St. Regis Aspen Resort. Not only has their presidential suite been transformed into the Paradis suite, but guests can also book a special Paradis dinner experience. A partnership between Pastry Chef Cyril Baudin of Chateau de Bagnolet, the historic estate of the Hennessy family in Cognac, and Buğra Keleş Executive Chef of the St. Regis in Aspen, the four course dinner brings epicureans on a gastronomic journey from Cognac to Colorado. A sample menu includes Alaskan king crab and Kaluga caviar paired with Krug Grande Cuvée, dry aged duck breast and foie gras paired with Joseph Phelps Insignia, Wagyu striploin and white Alba truffle paired with Hennessy X.O., and a lavender infused baba paired with Hennessy Paradis. Dessert course from the Paradis dinner experience: lavender infused baba paired with Hennessy ... More Paradis Paradis is the pillar of the Hennessy Rare Editions collection. I chatted with Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, an eighth generation master blender for Hennessy, to learn more about the unique cognacs in the Rare Editions portfolio. Renaud was born and raised in Cognac. Naturally his family has deep roots in the cognac industry with his parents being grape growers and distillers, and his great uncle was a master blender. He has worked in Bordeaux, Reims, Chile, and Australia. About 20 years ago his uncle noticed his potential and gave him the opportunity to join Hennessy. For Renaud 'it's really about what you believe in. I believe in quality. I believe in preparing the future and having values. This is why I'm really happy in this job.' Hennessy Paradis in the Paradise Suite at St Regis Aspen Resort Benjamin Liong Setiawan: There are several expressions within the Hennessy Rare Editions collection. Can you tell me more about them? Renaud Fillioux de Gironde: The heart of the Rare Editions is Hennessy Paradis. It's really the idea of being on the quest for perfect harmony. It's this idea of how you can see that everything just fits together. Even after all these years—because we're talking about a blend of 100 different eaux-de-vie that are at least 30 years old and some way more—it's still fresh, young, full of energy, but elegant. That's the magic of Paradis. Paradis is, in a way, iconic because you can have all of these characters with this wonderful freshness and harmony. Then we also have Richard Hennessy, another cognac in our permanent range. If Paradis is about harmony, then Richard is about complexity. We're talking about the ingredients that are at least 50 years old and up to way more than that. It's the history of our founder in a glass. So it's really more about maturity and complexity, when Paradis is about harmony and a delicate character. It's two different expressions of what an amazing stock of eaux-de-vie we have in Cognac. Hennessy Paradis x Loewe BLS: In addition to your core range of Rare Editions, you have some limited edition cognacs. RFdG: I'd say a limited edition or special creation is Paradis Unlimited, which is the purest version of Paradis. We put back the cognac for almost three extra years in the barrel to let all of the elements combine with it. And the idea behind Paradis Unlimited is, how can you get the purest clarity and expression of Paradis? So we took it straight from the barrel directly to the bottle. It's even more delicate and more elegant than Paradis. I really love it. And you can craft the packaging and design it any way you want. It's full personalization. Talking about personalization, the ultimate expression of our rare cognacs is the Dame Jeanne. To understand this concept, you have to know every Hennessy eau-de-vie is aged in barrel. Each year I taste them to see their evolution and see if they're ready to blend. If they can still improve, we're going to keep them for a longer period in the barrel. At some point, if I've got a lot of great eaux-de-vie, but I'm not ready to blend all of them, the eau-de-vie that reaches its best, I remove it from the barrel and put it in the demijohn. It's a big glass jar. Once it's in glass, it stops the evolution because if you leave it in the barrel, it would have become older, but not necessarily better. If we want to keep the essence just as it is, then we use a demijohn. And to do something very special, let's made a cognac just for one person. The idea of the Dame-Jeanne is you want a cognac just for you. What I'm going to do is ask you to invite me for a couple of days to where you live. Tell me about yourself. Show me your favorite restaurants, what you like to eat, what you like to do, anything, so I can understand you better. Then I say, okay, now visit me in Cognac. I'm going to do a tasting with you of several different eaux-de-vie. I'm going to understand even more what you like. Now I'm going to make one cognac, one treasure, just for you. 10 liters of a pure expression of what I believe—with my knowledge about cognac making and blending—is something you will like, something just for you. I've done that twice and I've got the third one on the way. It's a pure expression of a perfect cognac just for one person. La Dame Jeanne by Hennessy BLS: That's hyper customized. RFdG: Yes, 100% from beginning to end. BLS: In an expression like a Paradis, what can you tell me about the eaux-de-vie that make up the cognac? RFdG: I don't talk too much about the figures because what matters is the quality of the selection. It's not the number of eaux-de-vie. Because if you blend one thousand poor eaux-de-vie, it's not gonna make a better cognac. What I learned during the first ten years of my career at Hennessy is learning how to taste. It's every day at 11 o'clock tasting 60 to 70 samples to learn what is good for Hennessy. It's not about what I personally like, but what is good for Hennessy. I worked ten years with my uncle and the team of tasters. After that, you start to have a good understanding of the stock. The idea, when we do all our daily tasting, is to follow the quality of our eaux-de-vie stock. We select what we buy at the beginning. We age them properly. We use the ones that are ready. We try to put in the best condition the ones that still have potential. If you get that right all the time, then you get a great stock. You can do great blends. Actually, blending is the very last step of the process. But if you don't do the whole work before, then you get nothing. The quality of the selection makes a difference. BLS: Knowing that there are different eaux-de-vie in the blend, how many generations back do they go? RFdG: If you look at the stock of Hennessy, the oldest eaux-de-vie we've got in stock is from 1800. This is how far it goes. When I'm blending some Paradis, a lot of the eaux-de-vie were there before I joined Hennessy, before I was born. It's interesting too, for me, there's a bit of emotion because I'm using some of the treasures of all the members of my family that were here before me. I have a special bond with them—the liquid. I got something that you can touch physically. I never meet my great grandfather. He was alive when I was born, but he passed away when I was a baby. So I didn't get a chance to meet him, but I can, in a way, meet him through the liquid. And when I'm blending Paradis, it's a tribute to their work—to what they've done, to the focus they had on quality, the quest for perfection. Because you're on a quest. Perfection doesn't exist, but you try always to push the limit. A look at some of the oldest eaux-de-vie in the cellars at Hennessy in Cognac, France. BLS: There's a real passion and tangible history in what you do. RFdG: This is why I love my job, because it's not just about me right now. It's a combination. It's teamwork. People will have passed away a long time, but it's thanks to their work. The fact that a lot of the ingredients that I'm using in Paradis, they could have said, 'it's great today, I'm going to use it.' The thing is, it's great today, but it can become even better tomorrow. So I won't use it now. I will keep it for the future. And this philosophy, this way of thinking, is what makes a difference. Doing something good and trying to make it better. BLS: For you, you're preparing some eaux-de-vie that will be used for generations to come. RFdG: Exactly. The last harvest was 2024 and still, during the whole winter. Part of what I decide to buy will be used in 100 years. We also have the impact of the climate and everything. Every vintage is different. Maybe this 2024 vintage is not going to age for a long time. But this other vintage, will say, has a lot of treasure. So we'll follow them. Every year we're going to re-taste them. Maybe change from one barrel to another one. Give them fresh air and everything. Aging is not waiting. Aging is making a lot of decisions about how to get the best potential. It's like dealing with people. We are all different and have different abilities. But if we are put in the right conditions, maybe we can be very good at what we do. For instance, you probably went through schooling and jobs that helped you to be good at your craft. But somebody else is a good plumber. And I need a plumber because we need diversity. You just want to make sure that you take every eaux-de-vie and you put them at their best. Managing stock is understanding potential from the beginning and putting it in the best condition for them. Understanding how these eaux-de-vie are different from that one. Seeing what's the ultimate they can be after two years or after 300 years. Hennessy Paradis BLS: How do you know when you need to move some eaux-de-vie into a demijohn to stop the aging process versus giving others more time in the barrels? RFdG: So this is why tasting is so important. This is why all the time I spent learning how to taste is, really, learning to understand. I can see in this one that it can be even better tomorrow. Or if I found a point that I realize through tasting the character that will develop is just going to be linked to age, I don't want that. Again, because it's going to be older, not better. So the potential that was there, we've reached the max potential. So let's use it now or move to demijohn. And it's only through tasting. There are no rules. There's no chemical analysis that you can do. It's really about understanding and making decision. We don't say, okay, I'm going to do it for just half of the batch. No. You do it, you do it. It's your call. BLS: You have to commit to it. There's a metaphor for life found in that philosophy. RFdG: Yeah! This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Paradis dinner experience in the Paradis Suite at St. Regis Aspen Resort The Paradis Suite and the Paradis dinner experience at St. Regis Aspen Resort will be available for bookings from May 29th onward, throughout the summer season, and just in time for the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Find Benjamin Liong Setiawan on Instagram: @hungryeditor.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Anderson's Last Loewe Collaboration Is With Hennessy
LONDON — Jonathan Anderson's Loewe send-off is not with a glass of Champagne, but with a Hennessy decanter in a leather case that imitates a chestnut burr. It's a fitting present and last collaboration for the creative director of the Spanish fashion house of 11 years. More from WWD EXCLUSIVE: Loewe Confirms Jonathan Anderson Is Stepping Down LVMH Unveils Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunk, Tag Heuer Timepiece and More Ahead of the F1 Australian Grand Prix 2025 EXCLUSIVE: Loewe Names Minsi Ko as Brand Ambassador Loewe and Hennessy are both owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Hennessy has expanded its Paradis cognac into 3 liters in a decanter-shaped bottle that's accompanied with a leather case, belt and neck clip, as well as two glasses and a pipette. The 3 liter set is priced on application, while a 70 centiliter Hennessy Paradis with the same leather accessories retails for 2,300 pounds. The leather case is available in three colors: anise, ambar and chestnut, which are sold exclusively at the Hennessy space at Harrods. 'This collaboration with Loewe is a celebration of the meticulous craftsmanship we put into every drop of Hennessy Paradis and encapsulates our shared heritage in artful innovation. We're excited to launch this collection and offer collectors and connoisseurs a unique sensory and aesthetic experience,' said Laurent Boillot, chief executive officer of Hennessy. The collaboration is Anderson's last toast with Loewe. As reported by WWD, the creative director is departing after 11 years at the helm of Loewe, which he transformed from a small, reputable Spanish leather house into a vibrant global luxury brand steeped in contemporary culture. Loewe announced his exit in a short statement shared exclusively with WWD. It did not say what Anderson's next move might be — or mention any successor. Best of WWD John Travolta's Daughter Ella Bleu Travolta's Style Through the Years: From Lagerfeld Model to Red Carpet Fixture, Photos Every Celebrity Skims Campaign: Kim Kardashian, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and More [PHOTOS] Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost's Red Carpet Couple Style Through the Years: Photos
