Hennessy Prestige Range Dinner and Tasting

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to attend the Hennessy Cognac Prestige Range Dinner and Tasting. The event was held at the Woodruff Mansion in Buckhead. Chef would be Jason Ellis, From Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen and our host for the evening would be Maurice Hennessy, direct descendant of the founder of the Hennessy company. How could I turn that down?

Upon arriving we were treated to a drinks made with Hennessy Prestige Range Cognac and Lobster and White Chocolate appetizer. Whoa that was one strong drink! I absolutely loved the Lobster mixed with white chocolate sauce. The sauce wasn’t too overpowering and complimented the lobster quite well.

Shortly we were seated at our table, and were able to get to know our table mates. Besides getting to meet Maurice Hennessy, we also got to meet Atlanta Silverback’s Rodrigo Rios (super nice guy!) as well as some other really fun folks.

For dinner we were treated to Chef’s Jason’s creation of Steak and Salmon with a Hennessy Cognac glaze.

After dinner, we were treated to a tasting of the Hennessy Prestige range. Maurice Hennessy guided guests through a Hennessy tasting experience. Mr. Hennessy shared with us the history of each mark and then we sampled Hennessy XO, Hennessy Paradis and the top mark Hennessy Richard. The Hennessy XO seemed rather strong, but the Hennessy Paradis was a favorite of almost everyone, smooth yet slightly spicy. Of course, the Hennessy Richard, named for the brand’s founder was peppery and fragrant. Had I known it retails for over $2,000 a bottle, I may have savored it a little longer than I did.

It was an extremely pleasant evening. The weather was perfect -mild, with no humidity. The residence that hosted us was absolutely gorgeous. Mr. Hennessy was a gracious and extremely polite host, even kind enough to pose for pictures with everyone. And thanks to Chef Jason for our Congnac infused dinner.