Created in 1765, the Hennessy brand was born of the vision of one man, Richard Hennessy. An Irish officer enlisted in Louis XV's army, Hennessy very quickly saw cognac's potential on the international market. He set up his own bottling business and founded a dynasty that would span eight generations. Hennessy soon acquired a reputation for exceptional cognacs and the appellations it created were used by all of the other cognac brands, including Very Old Superior Old Pale (VSOP) and Extra Old (XO). In 250 years Hennessy has remained the world leader in cognac.

Hennessy XO was created in 1870 by Maurice Hennessy and master blender Emile Fillioux, initially only for family and friends. It is a blend of more than one hundred cognacs aged for at least ten years, some for significantly longer.