There is only one answer to the question, who is the father of Georgian cognac? David Sarajishvili. Sarajishvili is the founder of French cognac-making technology in the Russian Empire. His plan to serve cognac to the people of the Russian Empire began while he studied in Europe. While studying agriculture in Germany and winemaking in France, Sarajishvili tasted whiskey, gin, and cognac for the first time. In realizing that Geogia was rich with the necessary natural resources to produce cognac, and that the drink was both popular and expensive, Sarajishvili returned to Georgia in 1880 with a plan to combine the French technique with Georgian products to create the country’s first cognac. Between 1884 and 1885, he began constructing the Tbilisi Cognac Factory and when the factory opened in 1888, it employed only 15 people and followed European working standards: an 8-hour workday, free cafeteria, vacation, and a nursery for employees children.
Sarajishvili’s drinks – which distilled a grape spirit in Caucasian Mountain Oak barrels – quickly became a sensation across the Russian empire. In 1890, Sarajishvili’s produced 218,000 bottles of Cognac; by 1910, the factory produced over 600,000 bottles to supply the Empire.
Sarajishvili died in 1911 and left 80% of his wealth to the country’s government to support literacy programming. For Sarajishvili’s impressive achievements in Brandy and Cognac production, he received the title of “Advisor of Commerce” and, in 1913, the title of “Supplier of His Imperial Majesty’s Court” from the Russian Empire. The Tbilisi Cognac Factory was later nationalized by the USSR and re-privatized in 1994 years after the country gained independence.
Today, Sarajishvili still produces over half of the Brandy in Georgia and has won more than 250 prizes at international exhibitions. These awards have expanded the brand’s recognition internationally. Nowadays, Sarajishvili is exported to 20 countries on four continents.