Hennessy x Yan Pei-Ming Collaboration for the Chinese New Year

HENNESSY x YAN PEI-MING

FEATURE STORY
ARTIST
COLLABORATION
DESIGN
STORIES

HENNESSY V.S.O.P x YAN PEI-MING
Hennessy V.S.O.P is a balanced cognac, expressing 200 years of Hennessy's know-how. The fruit of nature’s uncertainties, this unique blend has tamed the elements to craft and embody the original concept of cognac. The emotion awakened by the pleasure of tasting it continually reveals new facets of its personality.

The savoir-faire of the Maison Hennessy is fully expressed in this balanced cognac: the selection of eaux-de-vie, aging and assemblage. A cognac of remarkable consistency and vitality, Hennessy V.S.O.P conveys all of the savoir-faire of the Hennessy master blenders who have ensured the continued success of this harmonious assemblage for 200 years.
HENNESSY X.O x YAN PEI-MING
In 1870, Maurice Hennessy, a 4th-generation member of the Hennessy family, asked the Master Blender Emile Fillioux, a descendant of the Hennessy Master Blender Jean Fillioux, to create a special cognac for his family and friends, using long-aged eaux-de-vie to perfect the blend. They called it “X.O” for “Extra Old”, the original, and a legend was born. Hennessy X.O attained international renown and contributed to the development of the category XO which is a gauge of uncompromising quality. Thanks to 150 years of meticulous know-how, Hennessy X.O remains as inspiring today as it was the day Hennessy first shared it with his inner circle. The powerful and balanced structure of Hennessy X.O carries the promise of an extremely long finish, with each drop an invitation to embark on a journey of the senses through seven tasting notes.
HENNESSY PARADIS x YAN PEI-MING
Hennessy Paradis was created by Maurice Fillioux in 1979. This harmonious cognac is defined by its graceful, silky character, and immediately delights with its rich copper colour. Its finely nuanced aromatic qualities welcome those who seek bliss and delight.

It is a perfectly balanced blend, both voluptuous and round, and combines smoothness and strength with a silky texture. Naturally, it has a flavourful and deep, persistent finish.

To celebrate the year of the Rabbit, this elegant cognac comes in a precious material: a porcelain decanter. Since 1863, maison Bernardaud has been creating ever more exceptional works of porcelain, and this year it has once again provided the 888 Hennessy Paradis decanters.

FEATURE STORY

Hennessy x Yan Pei-Ming Collaboration

Hennessy heralds a brand-new cycle in the Chinese calendar through a monumental composition by Yan Pei-Ming, one of the world's most celebrated and sought-after contemporary artists.

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ARTIST

A celebrated contemporary artist

Yan Pei-Ming has won international acclaim for his unique style and his works convey a message of universality, interconnectedness, and the need to live in harmony with the world around us.

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Array of intertwined destinies

Conveying the tension between conventional form and contemporary relevance, his body of work encompasses a wide spectrum of subjects, including people in the public eye, history and current events.

Unprecedented light and shade

Powerful and monumental portraits, in turn, his work also pursues an intriguing goal: taming the darkness until it reveals an unsuspected glow: “For me it’s about the light, the shadow.”

COLLABORATION

A vibrant composition

Renowned for his portraits of animals and famous personalities, Yan Pei-Ming honours the Year of the Rabbit with a monumental painting, depicting the rabbit, and all the 12 animals of the zodiac.

The allegory is one of togetherness in diversity. The work's true subject, the artist notes, is not one animal or another, or even the cognac itself. Instead, Yan Pei-Ming focused on capturing light. "When you hold a bottle of cognac up to sunlight, its hues and transparency vary so much. I wanted to portray cognac — but it's light that is really the colour of this painting," the artist says.

His artwork, "The Great Race", a vibrant composition shows the zodiac bestiary galloping in unison, evoking a message of freedom, inclusion, and interconnectedness.

For the first time in his remarkable career, the Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming ventures into a new palette: cognac's amber, orange, russet and burgundy tones take pride of place in a composition that nods to the many eaux-de-vie and hues present in the Hennessy cognac. The artist's signature broad, sweeping brushstrokes impart a sense of universality, immediacy, and adventure.