Hennessy Brand Ambassador and Business Development Manager for Africa and the Middle East, Benny Smith, has held a successful meet and greet with local media on the brand’s unique history and culture.
Held at The container in Nyaniba, Osu, it was an intimate celebration of a truly global brand that is Hennessy.
Smith presented to a select core of media persons the variants that make the Hennessy range uniquely golden while providing some insight into how far the brand has travelled.
Hennessy is a brandy distiller with its headquarters located in Cognac, France. Hennessy sells about 50 million bottles a year worldwide, or more than 40 percent of the world’s cognac, making it the largest cognac producer.
Hennessy has been in Africa since 1866 and in that year of its inception was when its first shipment was made to Africa.
Touting Ghana as one of its most treasured markets Smith said Hennessy intends to consolidate the gains while focusing on satisfying its customers.
“Ghanaians are accepting cocktail and it’s currently the fastest mixing drink in Ghana, So Hennessy has put in place some measures to reach out to our customers through the bartenders. We have met with a lot of Bartenders and it will amaze you the skills they have.”
Smith called on Bartenders to be extremely creative to shore up interest and also for consumers to discover the impressive blends that can be created with Hennessy.
Hennessy is a global brand of good repute. It is mentioned in hundreds of hip-hop songs including “KC Tea” (2010) by Tech N9ne, “Hennessey” (2004) by 2Pac, “Hennesey N Buddah” (2000), by Snoop Dogg and “Love Scars” by Trippie Redd. It was also mentioned in the opening verse of Korean girl group Blackpink’s debut song, “Boombayah” as well as Digital Underground’s “The Humpty Dance”.
The cognac was notably mentioned in the chorus of the Drake single “One Dance” (2016), in which the rapper references having a Hennessy in his hand. The song saw immense global popularity and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. Hennessy is also mentioned in Blackbear’ song “Moodz” featuring 24 Hours and in Jenny Lewis’ song “Red Bull & Hennessy”.
Hennessy was the favorite drink of Kim Jong-il, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Hennessy once reported that Kim spent over $700,000 a year on Paradis cognac.