When you are asked if you can hop on a plane for Paris tomorrow, during Paris Fashion Week, to attend a Maison Martell Cognac brand dinner, you go. That’s exactly what I did, and the next 48 hours after that were a lesson in why Martell has been around since 1715. It’s a brand that embraces change and the diversity that makes the world a better place.

The 300-plus-year-old brand’s ethos is “defy expectations,” which is what Rachel Martell did when her husband, its founder, died in 1751. She had children and lived during a time when women weren’t regarded highly as business owners, especially in spirits. She was counted out because she was supposed to focus on being a grieving widow and mother, but she stepped up to keep the family business afloat and became a highly regarded luminary duri

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