R200 000. That is how much you should expect to pay for the limited edition 150th anniversary bottle of Hennessy.
The luxury French cognac brand recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of X.O with a live fireworks event and the release of a limited edition masterpiece designed by architect Frank Gehry.
Gehry is one of the most prolific architects and has designed some of the most iconic buildings of the modern era, including Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. He has also designed The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Spain. His designs are so famous that even his own home is a tourist attraction.
Thanks to his design genius and the use of his signature sculptural style, Gehry was roped in to reinterpret the Hennessy X.O’s iconic bottle. He married gold and glass to create a bottle enveloped in a crinkled sleeve of 24-carat gold dipped in bronze, evoking the radiant movement of water as it reflects the light.
The sculptural decanter is encased by a fractured glass glorifier, which further amplifies the inspiration of water and light. To further the experience of the decanter, Gehry created a luminous and beautifully understated fusil made of brass and gold. The device keenly reflects the Hennessy cellar master’s ritual to extract the extra old cognac.
“It was an honour to be asked to celebrate this milestone. While I was excited, it was also daunting because a bottle of cognac is already a work of art, one you can smell, taste, and feel — it doesn’t need embellishment as it’s already there. We are showing how we can be creative within that language. There’s such a powerful history and a serious emotional commitment from the people that make this product. It has a resonance that’s interesting to tie into and become a part of,” said Gehry.
This past Friday, acclaimed Chinese artist Cai Guo Qiang – known as the Fire Alchemist – told a story of life and rebirth through an epic, ephemeral live daytime fireworks event over Cognac’s Charente River. Multicoloured fireworks were launched from 150 oak barrels symbolising the 150-year history of Hennessy X.O.
There are only 150 bottles of the limited edition. A wider release of the limited-edition Hennessy X.O bottles, also created by Frank Gehry, are available from bottle stores from R2 400.