The French spirits group was created in 1990 through a merger of the companies Rémy Martin (cognac) and Cointreau (liqueur). Rémy Martin was founded by the winegrower of the same name in 1724. In 1924, the company was taken over by André Renaud, who founded its current fame. Cointreau was founded in Angers (Maine-et-Loire) in 1849 by the brothers Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau, and in 1875 the famous liqueur of the same name was invented from the peels of bitter oranges. Maximilien Cointreau, who joined the company in the 1950s, married one of André Renaud's two daughters, which led to the family relationship between the later united companies. In 1965, André Rénaud died and left the house to his daughters. Their spouses, André Heriard-Dubreuil and Maximilien Cointreau, fought a bitter battle for supremacy for many years, which almost led to their downfall. Only the final merger with Cointreau in 1990 put an end to this dispute.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien