HENNESSY BRINGS A NEW MID-AUTUMN RITUAL TO HONG KONG WITH JACKSON WANG

Ahead of the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival, Hennessy is placing the rituals of the season in a contemporary setting. Its new campaign, Experience a New Kind of Ceremony, brings together limited-edition V.S.O.P and X.O expressions, tea-inspired serves, a travelling pop-up experience and a luxury mooncake collaboration, with musician and global cultural figure Jackson Wang at the centre of the campaign.

The concept is built around a familiar Mid-Autumn language: gathering, sharing and taking time to appreciate the moment. Hennessy introduces another layer through the relationship between tea and cognac, two traditions with longstanding cultural associations across Asia. Rather than treating them as separate worlds, the campaign uses their meeting point as the basis for a series of contemporary rituals.

At the centre of the Hong Kong programme is the “Under the Moon” truck, which will take over the Piazza at K11 Art Mall from 10 to 13 September 2026. The temporary space is designed around a tea-and-cognac tasting experience, including the Hennessy V.S.O.P Boba cocktail. The format brings the conviviality of a festive gathering into a more informal, contemporary environment, reflecting the campaign’s interest in evolving familiar customs without losing their social character.

The two limited editions provide the campaign’s visual focus. Hennessy V.S.O.P and Hennessy X.O have been given distinctive seasonal presentations developed with Jackson Wang. Hennessy’s official campaign materials describe the collection as a fusion of the House’s heritage with Asian tea culture, with each expression offering a different interpretation of the occasion.

The V.S.O.P edition takes a more energetic direction, with a design developed in vibrant red and orange. Its associated serve combines Hennessy V.S.O.P with oolong tea and ice, drawing on the refreshing character of tea while retaining the spirit’s distinctive profile. The X.O edition adopts a more restrained presentation, with amber tones, silver accents and a frozen-effect treatment across its gift box. Hennessy proposes it with sparkling water and ice, offering a simpler serve intended to allow the cognac to remain central.

Tea is therefore not simply a decorative reference within the campaign. It becomes part of the drinking ritual itself. The contrast between the warmth and depth associated with cognac and the freshness and aromatic character of tea gives Hennessy a way to approach Mid-Autumn through flavour as much as through imagery.

Jackson Wang brings another dimension to that conversation. Born and raised in Hong Kong and known internationally as a musician and performer, his involvement reflects the campaign’s interest in cultural exchange. His connection to both Asian heritage and a global creative audience makes him a natural figure through whom Hennessy can explore how traditions evolve as they travel between generations and communities.

The collaboration also continues Hennessy’s long engagement with China. The House’s archives record its first shipment to China in December 1859, when an order for 25 cases of Hennessy eaux-de-vie was placed through Paris-based merchants. More than a century and a half later, China remains an important part of the House’s international cultural presence.

That history gives the 2026 Mid-Autumn programme additional context. The campaign is not an isolated seasonal exercise but part of a relationship between Hennessy and Asian markets that dates back to the nineteenth century. The House’s approach has increasingly involved collaborations with artists and cultural figures, using contemporary interpretation to communicate its longstanding craftsmanship to different audiences.

The festivities extend beyond the K11 Art Mall. In Hong Kong, Hennessy is partnering with a selection of hospitality venues to introduce tea-inspired cocktails during the Mid-Autumn period. Participating locations include Avenue 75 Bar & Eatery, Chin Chin Bar at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Library Restaurant and Bar, Swim Club at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui, The Bar at The Peninsula and Tiffany’s New York Bar at InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong.

The programme reaches the dining table, too, through a collaboration with InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. Together, the partners have created a limited-edition mooncake featuring a dark chocolate filling infused with Hennessy cognac. The combination places the spirit within one of the festival’s most recognisable culinary traditions, pairing cocoa with the richer, warmer character of cognac.

For Hennessy, such collaborations reflect a broader understanding of what a seasonal celebration can represent. The Mid-Autumn Festival has traditionally centred on reunion and the sharing of food, particularly mooncakes, beneath the full moon. Contemporary celebrations increasingly encompass design, hospitality, music and new forms of social gathering. Hennessy’s programme occupies that intersection without abandoning the symbolic vocabulary of the festival.

The approach is consistent with the Maison’s long history of adapting its presentation while retaining its core identity. Founded by Irish-born Richard Hennessy in Cognac in 1765, the House began as a trading enterprise centred on eaux-de-vie. Its relationship with the Fillioux family, which began in the early nineteenth century, developed into one of the defining traditions of Hennessy’s production, with eight generations of Master Blenders eventually carrying the expertise forward. Today, Hennessy remains headquartered in Cognac and distributes its cognacs across more than 160 countries.

The House’s heritage is also visible in the history of its V.S.O.P and X.O expressions. Hennessy’s Very Superior Old Pale dates to 1817, when the Prince of Wales, later George IV, requested a superior-quality cognac. X.O was created in 1870 by Maurice Hennessy, becoming one of the House’s most recognised expressions and an important part of its development in international markets.

For those looking to experience Hennessy’s wider retail offering, the House’s official store locator currently lists Macau City of Dreams – The House of Hennessy at DFS Macau City of Dreams, Level 1, Estrada do Istmo, Coloane Cotai, Macau SAR China. Hennessy also maintains a network of travel and boutique locations internationally, with availability varying by market.

The 2026 Mid-Autumn programme ultimately places Hennessy within a conversation about how cultural rituals remain meaningful while changing shape. Tea, mooncakes, music, design and cognac each carry their own histories; brought together thoughtfully, they can form a contemporary celebration without requiring tradition to stand still.

As the moon becomes the visual centre of the season once again, Hennessy’s Jackson Wang collaboration suggests that heritage need not be preserved in a single form. Sometimes it survives precisely because each generation finds its own way to gather, share and celebrate it.