Martell House is one of the oldest among the great cognac houses with a 300-year history of passionate dedication and meticulous work of the Martell family. In 1715, Jean Martell, a young entrepreneur from Jersey Island, started his own business by establishing one of the very first cognac houses in the Cognac region. For nearly 40 years, Jean Martell devoted himself to studying and perfecting the art of cognac making. He traveled around the province in search of the finest spirits, building relationships with local grape growers who inherited their craft from their ancestors. After Jean's death in 1753, his widow Rachel took over the management of the production with the same attentive and reverent approach as her late husband. Thanks to the active development of export, Martell became the number one cognac in England in 1814. In 1831, the company produced its first VSOP cognac and continued its promotion on the international market. The thriving business was passed down to Jean and Frederic's sons by Rachel. The Cordon Bleu, created in 1912, is considered the company's most famous product. Martell cognac was served on board the "Queen Mary" steamship in 1936 and even on the Concorde aircraft in 1977. In 1987, Seagram acquired the French company for 1.2 billion dollars. Since the acquisition by the Seagram group of companies in 2001, Martell is owned by the Pernod Ricard group. In the 2000s, Martell introduced new cognacs to the market: Martell XO in 2005, Martell Création Grand Extra in a bottle designed by glass artist Serge Manso in 2007. In 2009, Martell launched its signature cognac L'Or de Jean Martell. In 2011, Martell expanded its range of "super-prestigious" products by adding the exceptional Martell Chanteloup Perspective cognac as a tribute to the masters of Martell cognac production. Martell represents the French art of living, passed down from generation to generation, enjoying the beauty of each moment and deriving maximum pleasure from it. A rich history where craftsmanship serves the taste: Martell cognac has been enjoyed and admired for three centuries – at royal ceremonies, in Hollywood movies, on polar expeditions, at aristocratic weddings... and beyond.