Stereotypes aside, a bottle of cognac and chocolate cake is pretty good as far as office birthdays go.
Yup.
If someone got you a bottle of liquor you probably have drank with them or spoken about it... it's not difficult to assume someone said oh he likes this lets get it for him. Further this is a pretty common brand and has a good chance of getting picked in general.
The speed at which people assume the worst and get offended recently needs to get dialed back... a lot. If I wanted to slight a dude I wouldn't spend money to do it.
I worked at a design Co once where they gave everyone a bottle of patron for a gift. I didn't want that crap, it's no don Julio, so I look at it and say "I can't take this, I'm sober" just to be an ass but they took it like I was in recovery, started to apologize profusely. A few minutes later they came back with a check for $200, a much better gift. I never drank at work functions anyways.
$200 vs. A shitty bottle of over priced tequila that's $60.. You came out way on top in that exchange
Is there a stereotype that I'm unfamiliar with?
Ya, Hennessey is associated with African Americans
Knowing nothing about Hennessy, should I ask why?
Hennessy has a long-standing relationship with African American culture, especially hip hop. It has been described as "synonymous with rap music and African Americans, who are the brand's major consumers and advocates". While music, especially the 2004 2Pac song "Hennessy" has been credited with popularising the drink, some historians have pointed to a much older relationship, which began when African American servicemen encountered cognac in France during World War I and World War II.
Hennessy has actively pursued this consumer group for decades. It targeted minority audiences as early as the 1950s, when it placed advertisements in African American magazines like Ebony and Jet, used African American models, and hired African American employees. By some estimates more than two thirds of Hennessy sold in the United States is consumed by African Americans. It is sometimes referred to as "Henny".
Hennessy appears frequently in the lyrics of popular music, and by one estimate the words "Hennessy" or "cognac" are referenced in more than 1,000 songs.
So French Cognac from the actual city of Cognac...
How does it taste? I mean stereotypes aside... Is it good? Maybe they can turn a blind eye if it's really nice booze.
Cognac is essentially distilled alcohol from grapes… think about using wine to make distilled alcohol. I’m not positive, but I think I t was originally a way monks thought they could preserve wine through distillation and reconstitute it back into wine at a later time, but turns out not to have worked like that. Once you boil off the alcohol and discard the mash, you don’t get the ‘wine’ part back.
It’s just a different base to ferment and distill into a hard spirit. Because it starts as a sweeter fruit than grains, like rye, wheat, or barley, it tends to have a sweeter flavor. It’s particularly nice as a warm drink in the winter, but a bit sweeter than bourbon.
I enjoy it - it's smoother and sweeter and and with a different fruitier flavor than whiskey while packing the same punch.
I own a bottle and sometimes sip on it or include it as an ingredient in a mixed drink or cooked meal.
I'd recommend trying it at least once if you already enjoy liquor
I’m not a cognac aficionado but I think it’s good
Hennessey is a Cognac that sells itself as high end. Hip hop bands would buy Hennessey as a sign they had made it when they got big.
If it's anything like fried chicken or watermelon, I assume it's because it tastes good.
Its delicious. Idk I don't blame anyone for liking it
Look... I really like grape soda, watermelon and fried chicken. I have at least one of these things at home. If my friends come over, I offer them stuff I'm about to cook, drink etc. I am Caucasian...
Fuck whoever made these things a stereotype! I had to explain myself more than enough to some of my friends.
It's not about the food, it's about the assumption.
If you have watermelon, friend chicken, and grape soda, and you offer it to people, you're not a racist.
If you assume a black person would prefer watermelon, fried chicken, and grape soda, because that's what black people like, that's a form of racism.
If you avoid offering watermelon to your black friend, you're being racist. Not because of the watermelon, but because when I said "your black friend" you thought of that one friend who is black that occupies the space in your memory as "your black friend." It was a clever trick to catch you being racist, you racist.
But seriously, good food is delicious, and you should enjoy what you like. Share what you like with people, and find out what they like. Don't make assumptions about anyone.
Exactly my point. I just offer my foods and drinks to my friends and some of my guys keep nagging me when I offer it. It's just so stupid..
It's also associated with literally everyone else who drinks. This is a weird one.
Is it just the Hennessy that is being pointed to as the stereotype? Because I'm sitting here trying to figure out if there's a stereotype about chocolate cake as well.
Chocolate isn't racist. They picked it to match the color scheme.
My cake was strawberry.
Nah this is clearly with an A. A bottle of henny on the cake is a bro move.
HR is there to help the company; not the individual.
Can someone explain this to me?
Is he saying it's racist?
That’s the implication here, yes.
Hopefully it was just a joke though.
My job just gave me the equivalent of $5 on their stupid company store thing for my birthday.
Why did they put the bottle on top of the cake? That's weird. Right?
If you put the cake on top of the bottle it just breaks the cake apart.
If the bottle is in the cake then you can't read Hennessy.
I am sure this comment section filled with sheltered white tech nerds won't be embarrassing.
It's really easy. Do they provide this for all their workers? Is this particular worker being treated to this particular gift when no one else did?
If this was specifically provided for this worker without input from them, then it's a problem.
If everyone in the office gets a chocolate cake with Hennessy, then it's fine.
If the worker selected this treat for themselves, then it's fine.
Maybe they go out as a group occasionally and he always orders one. It's most likely a thoughtful gesture but we don't have enough info.
I had a friend (black) who got a fruit basket with majority bananas from her employer. She was really happy about it, so I didn't say anything, but it gave me pause 😂
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