Cognac is the name of a small port town on the Charente river in France, just north of the city of Bordeaux. The area around this town have become world famous for the production of fine French brandy which has taken the name of the town of Cognac as its own.
 
History

 In the 15th century, English, Dutch and Scandinavian traders came to the Cognac region to buy salt. They enjoyed the wine from the region also and brought this home with them. They found, however, that the wine often broke down during the journey.

To prevent spoilage and to save on storage space the French producers came up with the ideal solution - distil the wine, transport then add water when serving. 9 barrels concentrated into one became known as “brandy-wine”. This term is taken from the Dutch brandywijn and means burnt wine.
 
This brandy-wine was originally crystal-like in colour until the turn of the 17th century. France went to war and the brandy was stored in small oak barrels for several years. When the brandy was finally tasted it was found that it had taken on colour and was much better tasting.
 
In the 18th and 19th centuries Cognac set out to conquer the world.It was in the café society in London in the 1700s that Cognac first reached international fame as an after dinner drink or digestive.

The big trading houses who developed cognac into an internationally recognised liquor were virtually all from the British Isles – Hennessy(Irish), Remy Martin(English), Martell(English). These later, in the age of branding, became the big industrial brands of Cognac.