First Impressions
Simon Ford spent years as a brand ambassador, standing behind bars across the world, watching bartenders mix thousands of drinks. He knew what worked in a Martini, what cut through in a Negroni, what held up in a Gimlet. When he co-founded The 86 Company to create spirits designed specifically for mixing, he took that knowledge to Charles Maxwell at Thames Distillers in Clapham — the same man who distills Gin Lane 1751, Jensen's, and half the boutique gins in London. The result was Ford's: nine botanicals steeped for 15 hours in a 500-litre pot still, with over half the botanical bill being Italian juniper, chosen for its bright, delicate character rather than heavy pine.
Tasting
The nose is clean with pungent lavender and camphor from the high juniper content — celery and parma violets, citrus zest from three different peels (bitter orange, lemon, grapefruit), and jasmine adding a delicate floral brightness that sets this apart from more austere London Drys. On the palate, the mouthfeel is thick and viscous with florals arriving upfront before bright juniper builds through the mid-palate. Jasmine and orris root provide a perfumed quality, remarkably soft for 45%. The finish is long — earthy angelica and orris root, citrus fading into liquorice-like notes, cassia warmth. This is a gin that knows when to lead and when to let the cocktail take over.
The Bottom Line
Ford's earns an 8 — a masterclass in designing a gin from the cocktail backwards. The Gin Is In rates it 4 out of 5, Difford's calls it a bartender's essential, and it excels in virtually every classic cocktail. Simon Ford did not set out to make the most innovative gin or the most unusual; he set out to make the most useful, and in that he has succeeded completely. Every home bar should have a bottle.
