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With so many beautiful botanicals, gin can often be difficult to approach, especially when it comes to mixing cocktails. Because each expression can contain different types and amounts of botanicals, the gin that stars in a Bee’s Knees can be the same one that fails to hold up in a classic Martini. This is the dilemma that inspired bartender Simon Ford to create Fords Gin, a spirit designed to be equal to each cocktails.
The spirit was also designed with a specific target audience in mind: bartenders. To perfect the recipe, Ford worked with several bar professionals from around the world to ensure that the final product did exactly what it was intended to do: complement every cocktail in a bartender’s arsenal. Plus, every element of the gin — right down to the composition of the bottle — is designed with the drinks professional in mind. Now that you know the basics, here are seven more things you should know about Fords Gin.
Creator Simon Ford started out as a wine professional.
Simon Ford’s career in the alcoholic beverage industry long predates the release of Fords Gin in 2012. At the age of 19, Ford dropped out of university before starting work in a liquor store, where he spent five years refining of his skills and training for his sommelier certification. Although best known today for his gin expertise, interestingly enough, Ford was brought into the spirits space by serving as a marketing manager for Absolut Vodka — owned by Seagrams at the time — in 1996. A few years later, Plymouth Gin was purchased by Seagrams, cementing Ford’s love of the spirit. In the early 2000s, after leaving Seagrams and opening his own cocktail bar, Ford became the brand ambassador for Plymouth Gin and was even awarded the title of “Best Brand Ambassador,” in Tales of the Cocktail in 2007.
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Iconic Milk & Honey founder Sasha Petraske had a hand in making Fords.
At the time, Milk & Honey didn’t have a back bar, and Petraske was in the process of cultivating a strong selection of spirits to showcase in the cocktails. While discussing his picks, Petraske lamented the lack of gins that work well in certain cocktails. The two set out on a journey to fill what they thought was a dire gap in the market — one that supported all the complementary flavors of gin while still allowing juniper to shine.
Fords Gin is made for bartenders, by bartenders.
To bring Fords Gin to the public, Ford teamed up with Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric — the founders of Employees Only, a cocktail bar in New York City — to form The 86 Co., a brand dedicated to spirits “for to bartenders, by bartenders. ” Working with some of the world’s best distilleries — such as Thames Distillers in London — the spirits brand consulted with bartenders from around the world when developing each product to ensure each received their stamp of approval. . Along with Fords, The 86 Co. also released. of Tequila Cabeza, Aylesbury Duck Vodka, and Caña Brava Rum. In 2019, the brand was acquired by Brown-Forman, which decided to add only Fords to its profile, and production of the remaining three spirits was discontinued.
It took 83 trials to perfect the recipe.
Since Fords are created with mixology in mind, it is important to perfect the proportion of each botanical added to prevent any one flavor from dominating. As a result, it took the team 83 trials to arrive at the perfectly balanced combination of nine botanicals to bottle and stock in the wells of their own bars. The final recipe is dominated by juniper seed and coriander, followed by equal amounts of lemon, orange, and grapefruit peel, angelica, and jasmine, complemented by a whisper of cassia and orris. Each of the botanicals used in Fords Gin is imported by Joseph Flach & Sons Ltd., which has sourced both medicinal and culinary products for London’s tea houses and gin palaces since 1882.
Ford worked with an 11th-generation master distiller to refine his recipe.
To make Ford a product that could be widely distributed, Ford partnered with master distiller Charles Maxwell of Thames Distillers, whose family’s involvement with gin dates back to the 17th century. In 1681, Maxwell’s eighth-great-grandfather began the family tradition of working with spirits when he apprenticed as a distiller in the City of London — 315 years later, in 1996, his great-grandson opened-(you get it ) his own distillery in the same city. In addition to Fords Gin, Thames Distillers also make Fifty Pounds Gin — which ironically doesn’t cost 50 pounds — Colonel Fox’s Gin, and more.
Fords bottle was designed with function in mind.
Fords Gin was created as a “workhorse for the cocktailian bartender,” and the brand states that the bottle is designed to “function as a bartender’s tool, not just as a vessel to hold liquid.” The bottle has some hash marks on the sides to prevent the glass from slipping out of anyone’s hands during servicing. Plus, with its middle-grip bottle, the shape is intended to fit many hand sizes, ensuring comfort while pouring. Best of all? The vessel is equipped with lined indicators on the side that let the bartender — or novice — know how much they’ve poured from the bottle, eliminating the need for bartending tools like jiggers or measuring glasses.
In 2019, Fords expanded its lineup.
In February 2019, Fords released its first limited bottling: Fords Gin Officers’ Reserve, an overproof, navy-strong gin. The idea for the Officers’ Reserve came to Ford while he was enjoying a gin bar. There, he realized that of the many overproof gins on the market, there were none barrel aged naval strength, which is how gin aged when consumed by the British Navy in the 18th century. The spirit is distilled from the same nine botanicals as Fords Gin before resting in amontillado sherry casks for three weeks. Before bottling, the aged gin is blended with unaged Fords, resulting in a slightly spiced, slightly sweet distillate that still allows the essential botanicals of the gin to take center stage. Unlike Fords flagship release, Officers’ Reserve is not intended to be a do-anything gin and is instead a more robust version of the original spirit that shines in spirit-boosting cocktails like Martinis.
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