Cognac Courvoisier is renowned worldwide for its unique Napoleonic connection. The story dates back to the early 19th century when enterprising Emmanuel Courvoisier became a supplier of cognac to Emperor Napoleon I and Napoleon III. According to legend, Napoleon I tried to escape to America in a ship stocked with his favourite cognac, however, he had to abandon his plans and surrendered to the British. While the ship was being unloaded, British naval officers sampled the haul of cognac and were so impressed that they referred to it as the Emperor's Cognac, or 'Le Cognac de Napoleon'. Today the silhouette of Napoleon appears on all bottles of Courvoisier cognac, and is recognised as the symbol of the most French, most authentic of all cognac throughout the world.