Seagram let America's cognac boom pass Martell by, and the lead never came back

Martell, founded in Cognac in 1715, is the oldest of the big four cognac houses. Its flagship Cordon Bleu, launched in 1912, was for many years the world's highest-selling premium cognac. Seagram bought into Martell in 1987, taking a minority stake from the Firino-Martell family, and moved to full control the following year.

Under Seagram's ownership, Martell was largely neglected. During the 1990s, cognac experienced a massive boom in the United States, driven by hip-hop culture and African American consumers who embraced the spirit as a status symbol. Hennessy, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin invested heavily in marketing and distribution to capture this demand. Martell did not.

By 1998 Martell was selling less cognac in the United States than any of the other big four. The brand that had been the world's top premium cognac was an afterthought in the market that mattered most. Seagram's spirits business was broken up and sold in 2001; Martell went to Pernod Ricard in the joint purchase with Diageo, and the FTC's clearance names it plainly as a brand competing directly with Diageo's Hennessy. Martell produces about 14 million bottles a year today on revenue of €874 million — solid, and permanently second.