For Hennessy’s most conceptual project to date, the virtuoso digital artist marries music and visual data renderings in a multi-sensory "celebration of mastery" dedicated to the art of blending.

Hennessy is delighted to reveal its most conceptual collaboration to date with Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilege 2017 Limited Edition. In recent years, V.S.O.P has teamed with international design talents including the acclaimed British graphic artist Peter Saville (2015) and the Milan-based artistic duo Carnovsky (2016).

For V.S.O.P Privilège 2017 Limited Edition, Hennessy had the pleasure of collaborating with John Maeda, one of the world’s top digital and artistic visionaries.

When Hennessy first contacted him to work on V.S.O.P, Maeda says, “I thought of it like an experiment. My first thought was ‘We have to make a blend’”. He adopted the role of symphony conductor, a nod to the role of the Hennessy Master Blender, whose job it is to maximize the potential of hundreds of eaux-de-vie by blending them to their fullest expression.

During a visit to Cognac, John Maeda began to grasp the alchemy of making cognac. “Suddenly, it all made sense to me, as if by magic. I needed to make my own blend, but out of unique people. It was a high-risk project, and I’m grateful that Hennessy trusted my instinct.”

John Maeda’s vision for Hennessy V.S.O.P is “A Celebration of Mastery”. He reached out to the guitarist Kaki King and the information designer Giorgia Lupi, emerging talents whom he admired, whose work was complementary, but who did not know each other.

Drawing on each artist’s talents, John Maeda, Kaki King and Giorgia Lupi composed an appreciation of Hennessy V.S.O.P that resonates with all the senses. While as dazzlingly complex as a symphony, their “Celebration of Mastery” resonates with crystal clarity: not only does it reflect the spirit of Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège, it is a unique multi-media ode to the Hennessy Master Blender’s remarkable flair.

HENNESSY V.S.O.P PRIVILEGE: A THREE-PART SYMPHONY

2017 Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège marks the first time that a prestige cognac has ventured into the dimension of music and data graphics.

As a pioneer of data visualization and virtual symphony conductor for VSOP, John Maeda saw unique and complementary talents in Kaki King and Giorgia Lupi.

“Kaki King is such a powerful performer. She’s a master guitarist, so she thinks in music, and I had never met someone like that before. I felt like she opened up my world. I thought, ‘This is definitely an eau- de-vie that I would like in this blend,” John Maeda.

He had also been following Lupi’s work. “Giorgia is an illustrator who thinks like a computer, who works with machine-like precision but with the heart of a human being. She’s living in the modern world, using what her hands do best and making this wonderful synthesis, a precise blend,” he says.

2017 HENNESSY V.S.O.P PRIVILEGE LIMITED EDITION

2017 V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition came together during a visit to the Maison Hennessy in the heart of Cognac, France. Witnessing the beauty and complexity of making V.S.O.P inspired Kaki King to compose a 200-beat score that transposes into music two centuries of cognac-making mastery. Picking up on King’s harmonies, Giorgia Lupi translated the composition into a complex and unique visual language. Music became analogue digital visualization: a feast for the senses of sight and sound, and a pitch-perfect interpretation of the smell and taste sensations associated with cognac. Using John Maeda’s groundbreaking vector graphic technique, Kaki King’s musical beats and Giorgia Lupi’s graphic renderings come together in a uniquely colorful motif on the exterior of V.SO.P Privilege bottle and gift box. Each Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilege Limited Edition bottle will be marked with a number attesting to its authenticity.

2017 Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège will be available for purchase at retailers from October 2017 and celebrated online at hennessy.com