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.

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!