If looking for the perfect furniture-like accessory to display your Cognac has been utmost on your mind, then it seems that Hennessy and Louis Vuitton have the very thing for which you’ve been looking.
Definitely stylish and relatively practical, The Hennessy Paradis Imperial Trunk by Louis Vuitton will easily display four Cognac magnums within its handsome leather housings.
The trunk is available in two different sizes. The first has everything that you can think of to create a loving ritual of pouring, measuring, and tasting the amber nectar. The second is a smaller size but can still easily hold a single decanter.
While the collaboration between Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, and Arik Levy was unveiled in Shanghai in late January, the trucks and the decanter only go on sale in May.
So why has this trunk been released?
Hennessy is celebrating its most luxurious cognac blend, the Paradis Impérial, with a specially-designed trunk and crystal decanter set created in collaboration with Louis Vuitton and artist Arik Levy.
The Paradis Impérial Trunk is not your typical Louis Vuitton trunk. It’s more of a fancy drink trolley, with a very fancy price of $273,000. The Arik Levy designed decanter, which holds 750 millilitres comes in at a cost $3,000. While the Nomad case, which Louis Vuitton has designed to go alongside the trunk, can be purchased separately for $84,000.
What accessories come with it?
Undoubtedly the ultimate status symbol, the trunk is handcrafted to order in France, from the highest grade leather available. The larger trunk opens to reveal a makeshift bar, complete with four magnum-sized crystal decanters of Paradis Impérial and 18 tulip-shaped glasses.
Covered in Louis Vuitton’s trademark monogram pattern, the trunk also comes with a variety of serving tools, while the separate Nomad case to store extra bottles of cognac. The set is perfect for cocktail parties or business events where you need to make a good impression.
The accessories were also inspired by Hennessy’s eighth generation Master Blender, Renaud Fillioux de Gironde. They include the tools used by his Tasting Committee, a quality control panel that meets every morning in the company’s cognac headquarters to sample eau-de-vie. Levy incorporated these elements into what he calls the “tasting ritual.”
“When you pour yourself, you become the master of ceremony,’” say designer Ark Levy. “You are the extension of the Master Blender’s work.”
And the design of the decanter?
As well as playing a part in arranging the trunk’s interior layout, artist Arik Levy was commissioned to create a decadent crystal decanter. Features a sleek faceted design perfect for presenting the rare cognac’s exquisite golden hue, the bottle evokes a graceful sensuality, and broad feminine shoulders.
“The presentation affects your senses,” explains Levy. “The precision that it’s engineered with brings that same perception to the quality of the liquid itself.”
Levy also The set showcases crystal stemware with its own special housing and a smaller Nomad Case, which safely secures a single magnum for extended travel.
What about the Cognac?
The Cognac itself is one of Hennessy’s most exclusive release. It features eau-de-vie aged for more than a century in French oak, sourced from one of the oldest barrelhouses in the world.
According to Hennessy, it’s one of the rarest blends in the world: “From any harvest, the average number of Eaux-de-Vie with the potential to join this blend are a rare few: only 10 out of 10,000.”
