History
Maison Hardy owes its name to an authentic English gentleman, Anthony Hardy. Like any conscientious wine and spirit merchant, Hardy liked to get out of London as often as he could and head down to Charente to check on the progress of the finest Cognac crus. He finally succumbed to the region’s charms in 1863, relocating permanently and founding Maison Hardy. As a mark of his great affection for France and the French, he went so far as to adopt the Gallic form of his Christian name, henceforth being known as Antoine Hardy. He also adopted the iconic French cockerel as the emblem of his new company.
Antoine Hardy’s hard work, and the quality of the results, earned him respect and admiration in the Cognac region.In 1869 his Cognac Fine Champagne was awarded the Diploma of Excellence at the Amsterdam exhibition, richly-deserved recognition of his commitment and passion for the ‘nectar of the gods’.
The Cognac world was shaken to its core in the late 19th-century by a cataclysm which threatened to halt Maison Hardy’s development in its tracks: the phylloxera blight. First rearing its head in 1872, this parasitic insect rapidly spread throughout the Cognac region. Over the next few years the blight came close to wiping out all of France’s wine-producing vines. The Cognac region pulled through thanks to the abundance of the harvests in 1869, 1871, 1874 and 1875. The leading Cognac makers, Antoine Hardy included, were able to accumulate reserve stocks which saw them through this tough period.
Today Bénédicte Hardy represents the fifth generation of Hardy Cognac makers. As Maison Hardy’s international ambassador, she has worked to build the company’s reputation in the USA.