Courvoisier

The origin of our history goes back to the beginning of the
19th century with Emmanuel Courvoisier and his associate, Louis Gallois, running a wine and spirit merchant company, in the Parisian suburb of Bercy.

In 1811 Napoleon visited their warehouses in Bercy and he was hosted by Louis Gallois, the Mayor, and Emmanuel Courvoisier. Legend has it that Napoleon I later took several barrels of cognac with him to St Helena, a treat much appreciated by the English officers on the ship who named it "The Cognac of Napoleon”.

In 1843, the son of Emmanuel, Felix Courvoisier established the COURVOISIER business in Jarnac in partnership with Jules Gallois. When Felix died in 1866, his nephews and associates – the Curlier brothers - took over the management of the COURVOISIER business.

COURVOISIER® Cognac’s reputation as the finest cognac available, was again reinforced by Napoleon III who granted COURVOISIER® Cognac the title of "Official Supplier to the Imperial Court" in 1869. This certificate is now on display at the COURVOISIER museum in Jarnac, with many other Napoleonic artefacts and memorabilia.

In 1909, the English Simon family took over the COURVOISIER business and started to build the COURVOISIER® Cognac brand identity and develop its global reputation. They established the Napoleon silhouette and introduced in 1950, the Josephine bottle, both of which are now recognized and renowned worldwide.

COURVOISIER® Cognac is now owned by Jim Beam Global, one of the biggest spirits companies in the world. However, COURVOISIER® Cognac remains true to the same exacting standards of careful crafting and blending introduced by its founder nearly 200 years ago.