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 founding one of the very first cognac houses in the Cognac region. For nearly 40 years, Jean Martell dedicated himself to studying and perfecting the art of cognac making. He traveled around the province in search of the finest spirits, establishing relationships with local winemakers 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 active export development, Martell became the number one cognac in England in 1814. In 1831, the company introduced its first VSOP cognac and continued to promote it on the international market. Jean and Frédéric's heirs received the thriving business from Rachel. Cordon Bleu, created in 1912, is considered the company's most famous product. Martell cognac was served on board the Queen Mary ocean liner in 1936 and even on the Concorde aircraft in 1977. In 1987, Seagram acquired the French company for $1.2 billion. Following the acquisition of several alcohol beverages by the Seagram group of companies in 2001, Martell belongs to the Pernod Ricard group. In the 2000s, Martell released new cognacs: 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 "ultra-prestigious" products by adding the exclusive Martell Chanteloup Perspective cognac – a tribute to the master craftsmen of Martell. Martell is a French art of living passed down from generation to generation, embracing the beauty of every moment and deriving maximum pleasure from it. With a rich history where mastery serves taste, Martell cognac has been enjoyed and admired for three centuries – at royal coronations, in Hollywood movies, on polar expeditions, at aristocratic weddings, and beyond.