The Guinness World Records team has certified a Cognac produced by Jules Robin and Company in 1696 as the oldest in existence.
The bottle features an accompanying green stone base with gilded letters, an engraved glass and a stopper. They are all housed in a glass dome, which has helped the ensemble stay in mint condition over the past 328 years.
Cognac can trace its roots back to the 16th century, when Dutch traders would visit the southwest of France to buy wine and other goods, reports Decanter. Unfortunately, the wine struggled to stay fresh on the long voyage back to the Netherlands, so French producers began double distilling wine, which led to the creation of Cognac.
This is the only known bottle from the 1600s still in existence. The producer gave it to Edmond Jaulin, one of the co-founders of the Jules Robin brand, and it eventually found its way into a private collection in France during the 1950s.
The bottle was rediscovered in 2018, and it was acquired by its current owner for an undisclosed sum. It was thought to be the oldest Cognac in existence, and that status has now been confirmed by Guinness World Records.
The Guinness World Record was previously held by a Cognac from Gautier, which was distilled in 1762 - and fetched almost $150,000 at auction in 2020, by which point it was referred to as ‘the oldest Cognac vintage ever sold at auction’.