Fords Gin

It is arguably the best value Negroni gin on the shelf. Fords was designed by a bartender specifically for cocktails rather than for sipping neat, which means it was built to stay recognisable when it is mixed with assertive ingredients. In a Negroni it has the juniper backbone to hold the line against Campari and enough citrus to meet the orange peel — the two things that make or break the drink.

Use equal parts: 1 oz Fords, 1 oz Campari Aperitivo Liqueur, 1 oz sweet vermouth such as Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth. Stir, strain over a large cube, express an orange peel. Our complete Negroni guide covers the variations.

Classic London dry, but rounder than the category's sharpest examples. There are nine botanicals, and the profile leads with juniper and coriander, then opens into citrus — bitter orange and lemon peel — with a floral jasmine note underneath and a slightly earthy, angelica-driven finish.

It is not a shy gin, but it is not aggressive either. The design goal was a gin that tastes like gin in a cocktail rather than one that shouts over the other ingredients or disappears beneath them.

Fords is bottled at 45% ABV (90 proof), which is above the 40% floor most standard gins sit at. That extra strength is deliberate and it matters in a cocktail: a gin at 45% still tastes like itself after the dilution that stirring or shaking adds, where a 40% gin can go thin and watery.

It is one of the reasons bartenders reach for it — the drink lands where the recipe intended rather than a step weaker.

Very. The citrus-forward profile plays well with quinine, and at 90 proof it does not vanish under a heavy pour of tonic — a common problem with softer gins in a tall glass.

Use a 1:3 ratio (2 oz gin, 6 oz tonic), plenty of ice, and a grapefruit wedge rather than lime. The grapefruit picks up the bitter orange in the gin and makes a noticeably more interesting drink than the default lime.

Tanqueray Gin London Dry 750Ml is the most juniper-forward and assertive of the three — the classic, uncompromising London dry. Bombay Sapphire Gin is the softest and most floral, and the easiest for a newcomer.

Fords sits between them and is the most cocktail-oriented by design. If you are making one gin drink a month, buy Tanqueray or Bombay. If you make cocktails regularly and want one bottle that handles a Negroni, a martini and a G&T equally well, Fords is the smarter buy. Compare the range in our Gin collection.

It is one of the better values in gin. At under thirty dollars it undercuts most of the premium bottles while being bottled at a higher proof than most of them and built specifically for mixing.

The honest caveat: it is not a sipping gin. If you want something to drink neat or with a splash, a more botanical bottle is the better spend. For cocktails — which is what most gin is actually for — it is hard to beat at this price.