The Hine legacy was born when, in 1763, Thomas Hine (from Dorset) began working for the Jarnac Cognac house, which later took his own name in 1817. From that moment onwards, six generations have continued to build the reputation of this now legendary name.

In 1765 Richard Hennessy, an Irish officer fighting for Louis XV, founded a Cognac distillery. Soon, he was exporting to America and the Hennessy brand was born. Over the coming years, Kings, Queens and Tsars became famous customers and demand soared. Today, Hennessy is recognised as one of the world's leading spirit brands and their top Cognacs can fetch princely sums of money.

Domaines Barons de Rothschild is the organisation that encompasses several legendary Bordeaux Châteaux such as Lafite, Duhart-Milon, Rieussec and L'Evangile, as well as several other notable properties around the world. In addition to their famous wines, DBR also produce Cognac and Armagnac which has often been aged in barrels from Château Lafite.

Arguably one of the most famous of all the Scottish distilleries, Macallan whiskies (especially older vintages) have become increasingly sought-after. The Speyside-based company creates whiskies based around its 'Six Pillar' philosophy - Spiritual Home; Curiously Small Stills; Finest Cut; Exceptional Oak Casks; Natural Colour and Peerless Spirit. These whiskies are amongst the most desirable in the world today.

Located in the centre of Campbeltown, this small distillery was founded in 1828 and today it produces three distinct types of single malts. Each of the three (Longrow, Hazelburn and Springbank) have their own character - Longrow is the traditionalist's peaty style, Hazelburn has no peat whatsoever and Springbank has just a little. These are whiskies for the connoisseur.

When Wing Commander Montgomery Collins began distilling fruit at his Wild Monkey guesthouse in the Black Forest, Germany in the '50s, he couldn't have imagined what he was starting. The area was already well known for distillation and its abundance of natural resources, so it seemed logical to create a gin using a special recipe of 47 of the region's finest natural ingredients. Robert Parker often tweets about how this is, in his opinion, the greatest gin ever made!

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is arguably the most famous of all Burgundian wine Domaines. From time to time, the Domaine releases their Marc and Fine de Bourgogne - brandies that are made either from distilling the pomace (the solid remains after grapes are pressed), or the lees (the remaining yeast deposit after fermentation).

Château Mouton Rothschild is one of the five First Growths of Bordeaux and is arguably one of the greatest wine 'brands' in the world. They also produce a limited volume of spirits too.

In their own words: "Every year, several barrels of young wine produced from the vineyards of Chateau Mouton Rothschild are destined to become Eau-de-Vie. The traditional process of double distillation in an Alambic copper still creates a spirit with fine, rich aromas. The Eau-de-Vie is aged in oak barrels for a period of 15 to 30 years.  Six months before bottling, Eaux-de-Vie of different ages are blended, with the average age being about twenty years."

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is arguably the most famous of all Burgundian wine Domaines. From time to time, the Domaine releases their Marc and Fine de Bourgogne - brandies that are made either from distilling the pomace (the solid remains after grapes are pressed), or the lees (the remaining yeast deposit after fermentation).