On Jan. 16th, Dr. King’s birthday, the historied distillery released a limited edition Hennessy Very Special cognac available throughout February in conjunction with Black History month to commemorate the accomplishments of African Americans. During that time 300,000 uniquely numbered bottles of the popular libation were distributed and sold at break- neck pace in markets around the country.
“It started last year with our Hennessy 44 commemorative bottle which was a celebration of the inauguration of the 44th president. It was a huge success for us and we [were astonished] by the level of reception … amongst our consumer base,” says Glaser who has been instrumental in bringing similar branding opportunities to fruition. The marketing whiz with the media background is a remarkably astute observer of consumer trends and human nature. “There was an opportunity to create and celebrate something in the brand’s history and… to tie it in with an organization that we have been involved with for literally over 100 years in — the National Urban League. They’re celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and we felt that was an opportunity to bring something exciting, new and different to our fans,“ explains Glaser.
Hennessy, a favorite of cognac connoisseurs worldwide enjoys a distinguished legacy on American shores which dates back to the company’s president, William Jay Schieffelin, who was also a founding member of the National Urban League. The solid relationship between the iconic spirit and the historic organization has had a long lasting and beneficial impact in both arenas. “A lot of people have this misunderstanding that when the music industry and rappers were creating lyrics and songs around cognac and Hennessy, that [that is when] it became part of the popular culture. The truth is that the relationship goes back a long, long time and we are very proud of that,” Glaser asserts exuberantly.
