I was lucky enough to travel from the north to the south of India during a charity race this year and on passing through Mysore, the verses of "If" came to me. It was my grandfather, a great traveller if ever there was one, who introduced me to this poem when I was a child. This lesson that needs to be repeated every day in order to become what we are": David Frossard, artistic director of Parfums Frapin.

The cognac house was established in the heart of Grand Champagne in the region of Chateau de Fontpinot in 1270. It has remained the family business for 20 generations, and today owners of Frapin are Genevieve Frapin and her husband, Max Cointreau. Their daughter Beatrice Cointreau introduced Frapin fragrance line in 2002, with their first perfume ‘1270’ named after the year when the cognac house was founded.