Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Thibaut Hontanx is only the seventh master blender in Courvoisier's nearly 200-year history, but that might not be the most interesting thing about his incredibly eclectic career.
From growing up around his grandfather's sawmill in France, to arriving in South Africa at 21 with a brief and a blank piece of paper to build the country's first agave spirits distillery from scratch, to seven years at Hennessy deepening his understanding of cognac ageing — all while completing an oenology degree in Bordeaux mid-career. Thibaut has accumulated a breadth of experience that very few people in this industry can match. We follow him to Martinique, where he oversaw production at Rhum Clément, and explore the surprising parallels between rhum agricole and cognac — two AOC-protected, terroir-driven spirits that share a philosophy but feel like completely different worlds.
Back in Cognac, we get into the technical craft behind Courvoisier's house style, the challenges of recent vintages in a changing climate, new grape varieties being trialled within the AOC, and what it means to hold a role where the decisions you make today will be drunk by someone thirty years from now. And why growing up around a sawmill turns out to be surprisingly useful preparation for a life spent thinking about oak.
To support the show please subscribe. It really means a lot to me.
🙏 With thanks to our sponsors:
Fever-Tree mixers for incredible mixers and soft drinks fever-tree.com
Belvedere Vodka making vodka the right way, with characterful organic rye, and absolutely no additives. belvederevodka.com
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:01 Origins: from sawmill to spirits
00:06:14 South Africa: building a distillery at 21
00:09:11 Cracking agave fermentation from scratch
00:14:28 Returning to France: Hennessy and oenology
00:25:05 Martinique and Rhum Clément
00:28:22 Agricole vs cognac: two AOC spirits
00:32:59 The move to Courvoisier
01:04:29 Climate change and the future of the AOC
01:08:38 The seventh master blender
01:10:09 On legacy
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
Thibaut Hontanx is only the seventh master blender in Courvoisier's nearly 200-year history, but that might not be the most interesting thing about his incredibly eclectic career.
From growing up around his grandfather's sawmill in France, to arriving in South Africa at 21 with a brief and a blank piece of paper to build the country's first agave spirits distillery from scratch, to seven years at Hennessy deepening his understanding of cognac ageing — all while completing an oenology degree in Bordeaux mid-career. Thibaut has accumulated a breadth of experience that very few people in this industry can match. We follow him to Martinique, where he oversaw production at Rhum Clément, and explore the surprising parallels between rhum agricole and cognac — two AOC-protected, terroir-driven spirits that share a philosophy but feel like completely different worlds.
Back in Cognac, we get into the technical craft behind Courvoisier's house style, the challenges of recent vintages in a changing climate, new grape varieties being trialled within the AOC, and what it means to hold a role where the decisions you make today will be drunk by someone thirty years from now. And why growing up around a sawmill turns out to be surprisingly useful preparation for a life spent thinking about oak.
To support the show please subscribe. It really means a lot to me.
🙏 With thanks to our sponsors:
Fever-Tree mixers for incredible mixers and soft drinks fever-tree.com
Belvedere Vodka making vodka the right way, with characterful organic rye, and absolutely no additives. belvederevodka.com
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:01 Origins: from sawmill to spirits
00:06:14 South Africa: building a distillery at 21
00:09:11 Cracking agave fermentation from scratch
00:14:28 Returning to France: Hennessy and oenology
00:25:05 Martinique and Rhum Clément
00:28:22 Agricole vs cognac: two AOC spirits
00:32:59 The move to Courvoisier
01:04:29 Climate change and the future of the AOC
01:08:38 The seventh master blender
01:10:09 On legacy
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
