Hennessy strongly believes creativity is a true expression of freedom and should be protected whatever the situation people might be faced with and so during the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, they kept the community of bartenders and aficionados inspired and motivated with the #HennessyMyWay challenge.

This Lunar New Year, Augustman took the time over the self-declared long weekend to ponder how we could make a Classic Old Fashioned cocktail our own. Inspired by the art of Zhang Enli, we developed “The Tradition” specially for Ren Ri.  For many people, birthdays occur on a day that is unique to each individual but for Ren Ri or 人日 , the 7th day of Zhengyue (the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar), it was the day human beings were created. It is celebrated not only in China, but also in the surrounding region influenced by Chinese culture.

Maison Hennessy ushered in the Chinese New Year with a dreamlike work of art by the internationally renowned artist Zhang Enli. Born 1965 in Jilin Province, Zhang teaches at the Arts and Design Institute of Donghua University, refining his signature artistic style of depicting the familiar and the overlooked, often from unusual viewpoints or focusing on seemingly insignificant details.  Celebrating the Chinese New Year in collaboration with an acclaimed contemporary artist is for Hennessy a way of honouring a spirit, a vision, and a commitment to art.

Maison Hennessy collaborates with Zhang Enli

“While this painting may be different from traditional tiger-themed paintings, my hope is that people will intuitively recall the animal’s beauty and vitality. ‘Poetry and Wine Welcome the Tiger’ is about spirit and sense over appearances; about the force of transformation, even in the tiniest details.” – Zhang Enli

In 2022, Zhang Enli builds on this tradition with an original artwork that expresses the regal nature of Hennessy blends through classical Chinese brush painting techniques combined with a bold, modern and creative vision. Coming after a time of challenge and loss, the Tiger represents hope and augurs renewed energy and vitality. For Hennessy, Zhang Enli draws strength from nature, offering a universal portrait of energy and optimism entitled “Poetry and Wine Welcome the Tiger.”

Following a visit to Hennessy’s historic seat in Cognac, Zhang Enli transposed his impressions into a fluid, dream-like composition in which sprays of water droplets surge up and re-converge into a tiger prowling in the night. Just as every drop of water in the river is unique, so Hennessy’s unique eaux-de-vie are assembled by the Master Blender into an amazing cognac. For the year of the Tiger, Zhang sought muse in the peaceful beauty of the Charente River in Cognac, using it as a metaphor for transformation and the passage of time; a fitting analogy that a great cognac truly becomes transformative across time.

Make it the Augustman Way: The Tradition cocktail

Having landed on American shores after the Revolution, Hennessy already figured among house favourites, the renowned French cognac proved itself adaptable to a luxurious new way of serving drinks to order, one at a time, and over ice, one of the great luxuries of the day. As early as 1803, a concoction “mint julep” called for “the purest French brandy”. By 1806, word “cocktail” entered cultural lexicon. Just as how the current Chinese Lunar Calendar is actually created and developed by Jesuit missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell and his Jesuit colleagues in 1645, Augustman intends to carry on this cross-cultural, trans-global tradition by heralding a new Southeast Asian cocktail: The Tradition, a mandarin orange cognac-based concoction.

• Orange angostura bitters – 6 dashes
• Hennessy XO/VSOP – 60 ml
• Brown sugar/gula melaka – 2 cubes or 2 flat tablespoons
• Slice of Mandarin orange peel
• 20 ml sparkling soda or to preferred level of sweetness/thickness

Other Chinese New Year Hennessy Cocktails

The special editions of Hennessy X.O and Hennessy V.S.O.P are respectively available on Moët Hennessy LazMall as well as other specialist stores:

Hennessy X.O: RRP SGD 398 | SGD 288 (promotional price)
Hennessy V.S.O.P: RRP SGD 128 | SGD 102 (promotional price)