The history of Cognac actually starts in the third century. The region and the beverage Cognac has a long history and involves all kind of nations, merchants, kings and aristocrats, natural catastrophes, wars and cold winters. Despite all this, the product kept getting better and better, century after century. Read the full history of Cognac, “the spirit of the gods”.

Marcus Aurelius Probus: Roman Emperor

• First century: Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus forbids cultivating wine

• III. century: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus reintroduces the law and grants the Gallic people to own vineyards and to produce wine.
• XII. century: Guillaume X., the Duke of Guyenne and Poitiers, orders to plant vineyards in the region of Poitou Charente.
• 1204: First merchants from La Rochelle come to England to sell wine.
• 1270: Salt and wine from the region of Saintonge are traded in Hamburg (Hanse).
  The Frapin family settles in the region of Charente.
• 1337: With the beginning of the 100 Year War between England and France, wine from the Charente region is exported to Great Britain.
• 1411: First, ‘brandy’ is distilled in the region of Armagnac. The consumers are mainly farmers.
  

  Francois I., a very important man for the Cognac region

• 1494: Francois I. (later on to become King of France) is born in Cognac. Years later, Francois will allow Cognac to trade salt by using the local rivers such as the Charente river.
• XI. century: Dutch merchants buy wine from the Champagne and Borderies area and ship them to the Netherlands. But they soon had to realise that wine suffers from transportation – so the Dutch started to distill the wine and call it Brandwijn. But distilling the wine was only a means for transportation, in order for them to be able to transport more. For consumption back in the Netherlands, they would add water again.
• 1500: Hieronymus Brunschweig from Alsace publishes the “Liber de arte destillandi” in Strasbourg: The book about the art of distilling. Even though the book deals with distilling from a medical point of view, it describes the technique of distillation.
• 1548: Farmers and aristocrats revolt against the salt tax in France.
• 1549: The first brandy appears in Cognac: Historian André Castelot reports about a merchant from La Rochelle, who produced four casks of good Cognac.
  

  Dutch merchants transporting 'brandwijn'

• 1559: The vineyards of the Aunis region produce too much wine, as demands are much lower than the amount produced. At the same time people now know that wine suffers from too long transportation ways. The Dutch are already using wine in their distilleries, so the excess amounts of the Aunis wine are being distilled. The word Brandwijn leads to the word Brandy.
• 1571: Second appearance of an eau-de-vie in Cognac: A Serazin purchase is noted.
• 1624: Two Dutchmen, Van Der Boogwert and Loo Deyijck, found a distillery in Tonnay.
• 1636: Another riot occurs: the taxes on wine were simply too high. As a consequence the farmers were not able to sell their wine.
• XII. century: Wine merchants test the ‘double distillation’: the eau-de-vie is distilled twice. Originally, the double distillation process was done because of lower transport costs, as it lead to less quantity and volume. This meant more space on the ships.
  In the 17^th century the Cognac was already transported in oak casks.  This is when merchants found out that the taste of the beverage changed when stored in barrels.
  

  Augier Frere Cognac barrel

  The legend of the discovery of the eau-de-vie is a slightly different story: A knight (called Chevalier) lived in the area of Ségonzac and had the idea to distill wine. A little more romantic…

• 1638: Lewes Roberts mentions a wine called Rotchell or Cogniacke
• 1643: Philippe Augier founds Cognac Augier, 15 years later on the company is turned into Augier Frères
  
• 1678: Cogniack Brandy is mentioned in the London Gazette
• 1696: Louis XIV. grants the family of Frapin a high aristocratic status
• 18^th century: first trading houses are founded. They acquire eaux-de-vie (spirits) to resell them to buyers in Northern Europe, Netherlands and England
• 1709: The vineyards of Saintonge are destroyed by a very cold winter
• 1710: The historian Claude Masse claims that a man from La Rochelle invents the double distillation
• 1715: Jean Martell founds Martell Cognac. His family comes from the island of ‘Jersey’
• 1724: Paul-Emilie Rémy Martin and his father Jean Geay found Cognac Rémy Martin
• 1725: Isaac Ranson founds a trading house in the town of Cognac. The goods are shipped to Ireland and Holland
• 05.06.1731: Louis XV. forbids planting of vineyards without authorization
• 1742: Cognac exports rises
• 1762: James Delamain becomes a partner of Ransom & Delamain in Jarnac
• 1765: James Hennessy, a former army officer under Louis XV., founds Cognac Hennessy
• 1779: There are now ten trading houses in the centre of the town of Cognac.
  

  VSOP Label Hennessy

• 1783: More and more aging of Cognac takes place in oak barrels from the Limousin area
• 1794: Hennessy exports to Northern America, New York
• 1795: James Hennessy marries Marthe Martell
  Baron Jean-Baptiste Antoine Otard and Jean Dupuy found Cognac Otard
• 1797: Thomas Hine and Elisabeth Delamain marry
• 19^th century: Cognac is no longer sold in barrels but in bottles. This leads to the birth of a whole new industry: bottles, cork. By the end of the 19^th century the wine fretter catastrophe happens: 280.000 hectares of wineyards go down to 40.000 hectares.
• 1817: The classification of V.O.P. (Very old pale) and V.S.O.P. (very superior old pale) are used
  Cognac Thomas Hine & Co is founded
  

  Alexandre Bisquit

• 1819: Cognac Bisquit is founded by Alecandre Bisquit
• 1824: Henri Delamain and his cousin Paul Roullet founds Cognac Roullet & Delamain in Jarnac
• 1833: King Louis Philippe receives his first cask of Pineau de Charentes
• 1835: Felix Courvoisier and Louis Gallois found Cognac Courvoisier in Jarnac
• 1848: Poet Alfred de Vigny produces his own Cognac at La Maine Giraud
• 1849: Martell uses for the first time labels on Cognac bottles
• 1850: Cognac is shipped to Australia
• 1854: The maps of the Cognac region show four different zones: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Premier Bois and Deuxième Bois
• 1855: Hennessy works together with Poilly Brigode in Folembray, the company produces bottles
• 1856: Hennessy starts to label bottles
• 1858: Cognac A.E. Dor is founded in Jarnac
• 1861: Martell sells its Cognac in Shanghai, China
• 1863: Cognac Camus is founded by Jean-Baptiste Camus
• 1864: Hennessy registers its name and trademark: it shows an ax in a hand
• 1865: Auguste Hennessy uses stars for his Cognacs
• 1870: the maps of the wine region of Cognac show the zones of Fins Bois and Bons Bois
  Cognac is exported to Bombay, India
• 1872: The wine fretter appears in the region of Charente. Because of the destruction of Cognac vineyards, the Whisky market grows.
• 1876: Courvoisier labels its bottles
• 1877:  There are about 300.000 hectares of vineyard in the region of Cognac
• 1878: Claude Boucher introduces a technique of producing bottles
• 1889: Cognac Frapin and Cognac Courvoisier receive gold medals at the tradeshow in Paris
  

  Ugni Blanc grapes

• 1890: Because of the wine fretter, the vineyards of Charente are down to 46.000 hectares and also in 1890 : Hennessy is world market leader
• 20^th century: Grape-vines are imported from Northern America, Ugni Blanc replaces Folle Blanche and Colombard. The production of Cognac become more restricted and controlled.
• 1909: Six Cognac areas are defined by law and protected
• 1923: Cognac brands Hennessy and Martell begin to exchange information about export markets. The knowledge agreement lasts 29 years.
• 1927: the words Fine Champagne appear on Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. bottles
• 1930: Cocktails with Cognac become popular
• 1934: Courvoisier uses the historic person of Napoleon to market its Cognac
• 1936: New rules for Cognac production: the wine for distillation must be produced out of white grapes. The addition of sugar is strictly forbidden.
• 1946: The Bureau National Interprofessionel de Cognac (BNIC) is founded
  

  Hennessy VS. Hanlissy

• 1964: Canadian Hiriam-Walker group acquires Courvoisier
• 1967: Pernod Ricard acquires Cognac Bisquit
• 1971: Hennessy and Moet-Chandon merge and Cognac Hine is acquired by The Distillers Limited Company
• 1986: Allied Domecq buys Courvoisier
• 1987: Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) is founded, Hine is integrated
• 1988: Seagram acquires Cognac Martell
• 1993: 87.313 hectares of wine exist in the region of Cognac
• 2001: Seagram (Martell) is acquired by Pernod Ricard and Diageo
  The market of the US becomes more and more important for the Cognac industry: Rappers and HipHop musicians make the beverage extremly popular in the US.
• 2005: Moet Hennessy wins a trial in China: Hanlissy-Cognac gets forbidden

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