Did Hip-Hop Save Courvoisier?

Hip-hop stars Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z are among a host of rappers credited with saving the Cognac industry - much to the dismay of those who produce it.

According to CARL CHERRY, a writer for hip-hop website SOHH.COM, prior to Busta's hit song PASS THE COURVOISIER, the spirit was all but redundant.

An economic crisis in 1998 caused Cognac's number one market, Asia, to dramatically reduce demand for the liquor - almost wiping out the Cognac industry. But rappers with their ongoing obsession for lyrics praising Courvoisier and HENNESSY seem to have brought the drink back to life.

Jay-Z says, "Cognac is a classy, sophisticated and really smooth thing to drink."

But the association with rap doesn't sit well with everybody.

JEAN-MARIE MACOIN, a Cognac producer, says, "We weren't expecting Cognac to be associated with those type of people."