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LVMH Purchases French Luggage and Trunk Maker Moynat.

Moynat Malletier, one of the oldest French trunk-makers has been purchased by LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. The chairman and majority owner of LVMH, Bernard Arnault plans to reactivate the brand and open a Paris boutique later this year. The entrepreneur has a strong affection for heritage European names and Moynat certainly fits the bill. The Moynat was best known for its lightweight, waterproof trunks for automobiles. The only remaining independent similar French artisan maison is Goyard, specialized in luxury leather goods.

Moynat, Once the Grande Dame of trunks that competed with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Goyard, opened their first atelier in Paris in 1849 as specialist in travel goods. Moynat was one of the very first leather goods houses of its day. Known for its traditional know-how and skills base in handcrafting travel goods, the house became famous for its designs for the automobiles, as well as for its technical innovations such as making its trunks lighter and waterproof, and for its notable participation in the various World’s Fairs.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan Scotch Whiskey.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods group has created a new premium Scotch whisky, Ardbeg Corryvreckan.

The whisky is at 57 percent strength and Dr. Bill Lumsden, Head of Distilling at Ardbeg, says that the whisky is ‘heady, intense and powerful.’ It has been maturing in French oak casks. Ardbeg Corryvreckan will be available in the US for $97.00 starting on September 21, 2009.

Ardbeg latest whiskey is named after a body of water, Gulf of Corryvreckan which runs between the islands of Jura and Scarba, which lies near the island of Islay, home of Ardbeg’s distillery. Corryvreckan also happens to Europe’s largest whirlpool.

In Scottish mythology the hag goddess of winter, Cailleach Bheur, uses Corryvreckan to wash her great plaid. This mythologic approach was taken for the visual identity of the brand.

Click here to visit Ardbeg’s website.

Renowned French champagne house Krug, founded in 1843 and now part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) luxury empire, is coming out with a new bespoke offering in time for the holidays. The “Krug on My Own Terms” consists of a wooden case of six bottles of champagne from the Krug cellars in Reims. The champagne is Krug’s prestigious Grand Cuvée, dubbed “the timelessly stylish signature of Krug,” that “effortlessly balances richness and freshness, power and finesse.”

The Grand Cuvée bottles are packed in a case bearing a bespoke plaque made either of metal, mirror or saddle leather, engraved with the purchaser or recipient’s name or initials, and emblazoned with the signature House of Krug logo. Priced at $1,000, it’s the ultimate holiday gift for the serious champagne lover. The “On My Own Terms” case is the latest in a line of stylish Krug offerings.

French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH is best known for its marquee properties Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Fendi but the company has also collected the world’s most amazing collection of first class wine and spirits brands under its Moët Hennessy group. The incomparable portfolio is celebrated in a suitably lavish new book called Distinctive Vintages ($200 at Amazon.com) published by Flammarion.

The book focuses on the collection of fine French wines and spirits, personified in three regions that are “as noble as they are prestigious”: Cognac, the ancestral birthplace of Hennessy; Champagne, home Dom Pérignon and its confreres; and Bordeaux, graced by the magical Chateau d’Yquem. It offers both a practical guide to the three regions as well as an explanation of the different vintages and results produced by the famed houses.

Moët Hennessy owns too many luxury brands to list, but to name a few: Hennessy Cognac; Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Dom Ruinart and Veuve Clicquot champagnes; Belvedere and Chopin vodkas; Glenmorangie single malt Scotch whiskey; and Chateau d’Yquem wine. Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Pucci, Kenzo and Marc Jacobs fashion houses.