The Hennessy cognac distillery was founded by Richard Hennessy, an Irish officer serving in the army of Louis XV.The Prince of Wales, later King George IV of Great Britain, was a great connoisseur of cognac. He asked Hennessy to create a "very superior old pale cognac." Since then the initials V.S.O.P - Very Superior Old Pale - have been used as a benchmark for the entire industry. Gerald de Geoffre de Chabrignac, Richard Hennessy's nephew, created the now distinctive X.O flacon design.nspired by the cognac Hennessy created for Czar Alexander I in 1818, Master Blender Yann Fillioux created Paradis Imperial. This cognac features a large proportion of eaux de vie from the Maison's 19th century reserve, creating a cognac of exceptional elegance, finesse and stature.