To his laundry list of achievements — self-made billionaire, four-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medallist, occasional actor — LeBron James can now add “Creative Partner of Maison Hennessy.”
Despite a range of legendary endorsements across tech, luxury watches, and apparel (including his historic $87 million rookie deal with Nike), King James has remained relatively discerning in the wine & spirits brands he chooses to associate with.
Today, however, he’s announcing the release of a one-off ‘Hennessy Limited Editions by LeBron James,’ consisting of VS and VSOP bottles plus packaging “that nod to LeBron’s impact on and off the court.”
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This partnership with France’s most iconic and commercially successful Cognac distiller is reported to have been in the pipeline for some time now. In a prepared statement, James described himself as “an admirer of Hennessy and its iconic brand.”
“I was fortunate enough to visit the Maison… and seeing the care and craftsmanship that go into creating each bottle was pretty incredible,” he said. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar also cited Hennessy’s “commitment to basketball and how it celebrates the sport’s influence on and off court” as a factor in his decision to work on a joint release.
As you can see from the official images above, James’ contribution to these new Hennessy editions is primarily a stylistic one.
Both the VS and VSOP bottlings are decorated with his illustrated portrait, cast in orange and purple. Additionally, the Bras Armé (Hennessy’s iconic fist & hatchet logo since 1856) has been reimagined: ringed, in this case, with James’ trademark crown.
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As for the Cognac itself?
The good news for eaux de vie enthusiasts is that it’s exactly the VS and VSOP bottlings we all know and enjoy. The latter — in fact invented by Hennessy in 1817 — is tailormade for neat consumption, while VS “complements a wide range of [cocktail] serves.”
According to brand representatives, LeBron James enjoys VS in the brand’s signature Henny-rita. But equally, we’d be surprised if the all-time-great playmaker didn’t also enjoy it shaken into a classic Sidecar.
