The most recent collaboration of Hennessy Paradis Imperial with an artist and with leather artisans offers an experience fit for a king

In its most recent appearance, Hennessy Paradis Imperial again showed how precision can lead to the point of elegance. The latest creation from the 254-year-old Maison Hennessy was the result of a collaboration with the artist Arik Levy and the master craftsmen of Louis Vuitton and revealed at an international press launch in Shanghai that matched the elegance of the premier cognac.

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Above Artist Arik Levy

The eau-de-vive raised by 8th generation Hennessy master blender Renaud Fillioux de Gironde comes in a marvelous crystal decanter designed by Levy in a shape that best brings out the aroma of the amber-colored spirit. The Paris-based artist also created a complete array of accoutrements for a memorable service ritual designed with even more precision in pouring, measuring, and tasting. All these plus three cognac magnums are housed in a handsome LV trunk that comes in two sizes: the larger one that can hold three magnums and the smaller nomad trunk for one decanter.

As every detail of the Hennessy Paradis Imperial is ruled by precision, so was its Shanghai launch. Held at the not-even-a-year-old Amanyangyun Resort, the reveal was a study in precision and elegance. The venue was at the Bar where the breathtaking performance of Japanese artist Miyoko Shida Rigolo set the tone for the rest of the evening, a harmonious blending of the notes of precision and perfection, grace and elegance.

 

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And then the reveal. Awaiting the small select party of international and local media in a glass extension to bar constructed by Hennessy just for the occasion (it will be dismantled after the event) was the handsome LV trunk with its royal contents. Echoing this attention to detail was Levy who described how he designed each item that would lead to the special service ritual. 

The long dining table was decked with a long train of flowers in different glass and crystal containers. From where they were seated, the guests were given a view of the outdoors, a frame of trees in the dark night uplit in changing shades of amber, again to echo the color of the cognac. And each of the five-course dinner―another collaboration between Amangyanyun Executive Chef Fred Shi and Chef Jerome Tauvron of Blanche restaurant―paired with this royal cognac left nothing to be gastronomically desired.

At the end of the dinner it was clear that the evening was not just a well-curated event but rather an experience as imperial as the star of the night. All the fuss over the Hennessy Paradis Imperial was more than it justly deserves.

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