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 It
comes in a Baccarat crystal bottle that comes in a handmade mirrored glass
and aluminium chest, crafted by 10 different artists. It opens with a
bronze key and a concealed switch which makes the tray holding the bottle
rise gently. The bottle is held in a gilded lattice designed by Guerlain.
Each chest also has four gold-leaf adorned glasses.
The Beauté du Siècle Hennessy
cognac was launched last week to mark the 100th year of Killian Hennessy,
the sixth generation descendent of the founder. Killian was responsible
for the merger of the company with Moët et Chandon in 1971. He had
also overseen the creation of LVMH by merging both Moët and Hennessy
with the fashion giant Louis Vuitton in 1987 and was the first honourary
President of the conglomerate.
The cognac was blended by the French cellar master Yann
Fillioux from Hennessy reserves ranging from 1907 to 1960. It's the house's
best blend, of course. But the exorbitant price is also because of the
extraordinary bottle the liquor comes in. The crystal carafe from Baccarat
has been designed by the contemporary French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel
and is a collectible too.
The chest has already been presented to Killian Hennessy
as a birthday present. Another one was donated to Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS
charity and auctioned for US$200,000 earlier this year. Several others
have already been sold to buyers in Asia, Europe and America. Countries
like Russia and India with several new billionaires will not be left behind.
A few of the chests have also been on display at a number
of contemporary art places such as the Galerie Nichidou in Tokyo.
Each chest will be hand carried and delivered to the
buyer by a Hennessy Board member.
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