The House of Hardy was founded in 1863 by Scottish wine and spirits dealer Anthony Hardy. Mr, Hardy had been travelling for years back and forth from his native Scotland to the Charente on business before deciding to finally settle in Cognac to open a distillery. The House of Hardy became one of a long line of cognac houses founded by expatriates. The House of Hardy, like August and Karl Meukow exported cognac to Czarist Russia.