I’m admittedly not a huge gin fan. But if anyone can change my mind, it’s Simon Ford. A drinks veteran of more than two decades — bartender, brand ambassador, entrepreneur, educator, writer — Ford launched Fords Gin in 2012 alongside 10th-generation Master Distiller Charles Maxwell as a gin crafted by and for bartenders (right down to the grip-friendly bottle design). Fords (no apostrophe) has won all sorts of awards (Best New Spirit at Tales of the Cocktail, Best in Class Gin at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge) and become a staple at cocktail bars around the globe.
The selling point of Fords is easy enough: the nine-botanical London Dry gin is designed to be versatile and work across an array of classic cocktails. And at 90-proof, it adds body and doesn’t get lost in mixed drinks. “The more you get to know about Fords Gin, you realize we’re really nerdy about gin and equally as nerdy about cocktails,” Ford says.
All well and good, but my interest in Fords was more existential. Gin was once huge in America (it outsold vodka until 1967), but today, outside of the bartender circuit, it lacks cultural awareness. While extremely popular in the UK and across Europe, the gin category is rather small and static here in the United States. While random drinks (spritzes, Guinness) have recently seen their popularity skyrocket because of viral trends, gin got the short end of the stick when the Negroni Sbagliato — where sparkling wine replaces gin — took off in 2022.
Can gin break out of its cult status here in the United States? Some experts are optimistic. Melita Kiely of The Spirits Business suggests that “anyone concerned the gin boom is over should look more positively to 2025, as globally, the category is only getting started.” She cites Fords as a brand to watch.
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Celebrating World Gin Day by emphasizing the “world” part, with botanical winners from Kenya, Singapore, Italy, New Zealand and moreEven after a decade-plus in the market, Fords is still making waves; the brand recently relocated its distillery and launched an impressive in-house bar aptly described as a “contemporary apothecary.” And Simon Ford himself seems to pop up everywhere as gin’s biggest champion. If you miss his global travels, stop by the Fords party at Tales of the Cocktail, always the biggest bash and the highlight of the annual drinks bacchanalia.
We spent three days with Simon and his team in London, where Ford gave us a tour of the new distillery space and a larger educational excursion around the city, where he expertly intertwined the area’s history with the history of gin (while stopping in more than a few excellent cocktail bars, including Lyaness, The Spy Bar and The Connaught).
Below, a few thoughts from Ford on gin and growing a drinks category, as told to us over a few drinks in London and via some follow-up emails.
On Celebrating the Global Nature of Gin
“The drinks that made gin famous during the past 150 years came from all over the world — the Singapore Sling, the Gin & Tonic from India, Negroni (Italy), Martini (NYC), the Bramble and Tom Collins from London,” Ford says. “You start seeing this gin as a very international spirit, and we wanted to celebrate that with our labels.”
Why Martinis Deserve Gin
“The Martini made gin famous,” Ford says. “In the 19th century, the gin Martini was what everyone was drinking all over New York. It was the number-one drink, like the Cosmopolitan back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. And that Martini culture made its way back to England.
“But up to 20 years ago, not many people loved Martinis. And what people referred to as a Martini was very dubious. There was a thing called the Apple Martini. It was a dark period. But to me, a Martini isn’t just a drink, it’s a lifestyle. The Martini is the most sophisticated way of doing five shots of gin in one go [laughs]. I was introduced to the Martini through vodka. And the reason people throw away the vermouth is because vodka and vermouth really don’t like each other.”
On Gin’s Possible Resurgence in the States
“If you look at old cocktail books, you see gin,” Ford says. “And gin started inspiring a new generation of bartenders, and there was some excitement in the category. Gin is on more cocktail menus than any other spirit right now. If you look at the drinks the top 50 best bars are serving, there are more gin drinks than other categories. And most of our customer base is bartenders.”
What Bartenders Think of Fords Gin (and Simon Ford)
“Simon was one of the first bartenders to inspire me,” says Agostino Perrone, director of mixology at The Connaught, a perennial world’s best bar awardee. “I met him 20 years ago when I came to London. Simon was always asking the most interesting questions about gin — what’s in the bottle, how to use it, what the classic cocktails are. So now he’s proudly standing here representing his own brand. He’s very pivotal for where gin is today in the industry and with the consumer.”
On the Fords Gin Brand Name
“I absolutely hated the name,” Ford says. “But also, it put the pressure on me. I became really nervous my name was on it. I took the apostrophe out at the last minute so I could be like, ‘that’s not mine!’”
What Simon Ford Would Highlight on a Gin Tour of London
“One of my favorite parts is walking past The Worshipful Company of Distillers, which was founded in 1638 by Sir Theodore de Mayere and Thomas Cademan, during the reign of King Charles the First,” Ford says. “They had a monopoly on distillation, which ultimately aided in making better quality gin. Another part of the tour that I love is St. James Palace, which is where William of Orange was crowned King of England — his accession to the throne was announced there in 1689. Genever became the drink of choice in his court, greatly aiding its popularity. He imposed taxes on imports, and in 1690 he passed The Distilling Act, enabling anyone to make spirits. This was further enabled by Queen Ann and resulted in the opening of hundreds of backstreet distilleries.”
How to Break Gin (Again) in the United States
“Gin’s popularity has been growing slowly but surely in the U.S.; its credibility and sales are driven by bartenders,” Ford says. “Drinks like the Martini and the Negroni have made a monumental comeback over the last 20 years, and drinks like the Gin Gin Mule and the Old Friend have been working their way up to being the classic cocktails of tomorrow. Gin is now one of the most popular spirits on cocktail menus in the U.S. I feel that the foundations are laid for it to take off, but I am not sure what it would take for it to suddenly become a category like whiskey or tequila. And gin already has its fair share of celebrity brands. Perhaps the new James Bond can switch his favorite Martini base from vodka to gin!
“The drink that drives gin sales in most countries is the Gin & Tonic, which is a drink that is quite often badly made in the U.S. If bars started serving it as a highball instead of serving it short on the rocks or in an Old Fashioned glass, then perhaps the G&T would take off. But I will say that what the U.S. lacks when it comes to the G&T is made up for with its advanced cocktail culture and its love of Martinis.”
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