Cognac king finds name opens bottles

WHEN Patrick Martell invites you to have a drink on him he actually means it. For the chances are that the bottle he pours it from will bear his family's proud name.

On a brief visit from his French base in (naturally) Cognac to his ''favourite place in Asia'' - a claim which is understandable considering the territory consumes more cognac per capita than anywhere else in the world - we caught up with the president of the Martell empire in his harbourside suite at the Grand Hyatt yesterday morning.

While we talked, the poor guy was given to sustaining himself with copious amounts of strong black coffee, having not returned to his hotel until 5 am after a round of nightclubbing. ''Market research, you understand,'' he explained with a disarming twinkle in his eye.

As during his escapades of the previous night, and at other more sociable times, Martell finds that his name does open doors - and quite a few bottles of the family brand. ''The name is a useful handle to have in the trade,'' he said. ''But it's not always easy, especially when I am in bars or clubs where people are so hospitable and insist on drinking to my health with the family brand.'' The Martells, his wife and four children make up the rest of the clan, live in a spacious house in the picture postcard southwest France countryside, where dad pursues his hobbies of shooting, fishing and golf - in between travelling the globe minding the business.

Destined to take over the reins from Martell Senior is his only son, 26-year-old Laurent, who is learning the ropes in the United States. ''He's a good guy, he should do well,'' remarked the proud dad.

Martell is in Hong Kong to launch his newest brand, L'Or de Martell, which he explains ''symbolises our quest for perfection''. In keeping with the theme of top-notch quality, it comes in a decanter with a 24 carat top and shoulder.