MAISON HENNESSY EMBRACES CULTURE AND COMMUNITY THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE WEB3 INITIATIVE CALLED "CAFÉ 11"

A groundbreaking partnership with Friends With Benefits DAO and a luxury brand produces an exclusive NFT membership and unveils exciting social and cultural events around the world.

PARIS, Nov. 4, 2022  /PRNewswire/ -- Maison Hennessy launches its latest Web3 adventure with Café 11, pushing the boundaries of innovative collaborations by merging its fan base with the NFT community through a partnership with the leading cultural DAO Friends With Benefits. Dedicated to offering elevated hospitality and experiences, Café 11 is a dynamic artistic space designed with Friends With Benefits, a hub of tastemakers, innovators and artists across the metaverse.

Named after the hour when the Hennessy Tasting Committee meets, Café 11 is a bold new take on the café society of 1920s Paris. With a nod to Jazz Age speakeasies, this initiative brings Hennessy's 250 years of cultural innovation to Web3 in intimate, curated spaces for meeting, sharing and exchanging. In keeping with the social club model, Café 11 will be open to insiders who hold a Café 11 NFT designed by the New York-based artist John Dessereau and deployed by Friends With Benefits. Café 11 also will be open to members of FWB.

"At Hennessy, we believe in supporting avant-garde creations. We also believe in the power of communities: embracing local cultures always has been at the heart of our process for more than 250 years. Like Hennessy, FWB has a deep-rooted passion for art and culture. And, like Hennessy, FWB brings together a vibrant community of diverse, inspiring creatives from every horizon: Hennessy and FWB are shaping a world of possibilities both digitally and IRL. This is what makes this unprecedented partnership between a heritage luxury house and a DAO so exciting!  From the Château de Bagnolet in Cognac to places yet to be revealed, we look forward to sharing this remarkable experience with our communities, wherever they may be." said Laurent Boillot, President and CEO of Hennessy.

Designed to feature a unique and surprising physical presence at the world's most sought-after cultural events, Café 11 will host an IRL inaugural event at Art Basel Miami on December 1st, 2022. Inside the Café 11 community, members will discover rich and varied programming, spanning, cognac tastings, special culinary and entertainment events, and unique cultural exhibitions and experiences. Those who hold the Café 11 NFT will be treated to distinctive experiences around the globe in the years ahead. Full programming will be released after the inaugural event in Miami.

"At FWB, we believe in the promise of a better internet—one where new communities are fostered and authentic connections can thrive. It is an honor for us to partner with Hennessy, whose legacy is steeped in culture, and further our mission to act as a social convening point for curious, ambitious people and institutions who want to use decentralized technology to co-create our future. Through Café 11, we will produce extraordinary experiences for all those who wish to join us in Miami, and we look forward to offering many subsequent experiences to members in the coming years," said Gabe Quintela, Head of Partnerships at FWB.

To introduce Café 11, Hennessy will be offering for public sale 1765 NFTs, a tribute the year of the House's founding. Café 11 NFTs are priced at $450 apiece and are secured by the Ethereum blockchain. They will be available for purchase as of November 4^th, 2022 on hennessy.cafe11.xyz

For more information, please contact:
Mikey O'Brien, [email protected]
Marcella Zimmerman, [email protected]

ABOUT FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (FWB)
Friends With Benefits is a social DAO focused on merging culture and crypto. FWB's more than 3,000 members all over the world collectively direct its multi-platform presence. Through $FWB tokens, FWB focuses on collectively funding, co-owning, and governing creative community endeavors. FWB leverages blockchain innovation to empower artists by giving them stakes in their creations and interconnections. Since launching in 2020, FWB has become a model for how a DAO can produce a diverse array of events, collaborations, and products that serve their community's needs while publicly pushing culture forward and driving value to the $FWB token. Café 11 is its first collaboration in the luxury industry.

ABOUT HENNESSY
The leader in Cognac, the Maison Hennessy has shone around the world with its exceptional know- how for more than 250 years. Built on founder Richard Hennessy's spirit of conquest, the brand is present in more than 160 countries. Based in the heart of the Charente region, Hennessy is also a steadfast pillar of the regional economy. The House's success and longevity are rooted in the excellence of its cognacs, each of which is born of a unique process of transmission of know-how from generation to generation. The first spirits house to be certified ISO 14001, Hennessy unites its capacity for innovation and the support of all of its partners to protect this exceptional area. As a crown jewel of the LVMH Group, Hennessy is a major contributor to French international trade, with 99% of production sold in export, and a worldwide ambassador for the French art de vivre.

SOURCE Hennessy