Simon Ford
Founder Fords Gin
When it comes to the spirits industry, there is little Simon Ford hasn’t done. As a leading voice of the bar
& cocktail scene for over 20 years, Ford has traveled the globe working with & learning from some of the
best brands, bars, and professionals on the planet. He has led numerous educational spirit programs,
judged global cocktail competitions and delivered seminars at international conferences such as: the NY
Food & Wine Festival, the Sydney Bar Show, London Cocktail week and Tales of the Cocktail to name a
few.
Ford has been featured in many standout publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Harper’s
Bazaar, The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, PUNCH and Liqour.com among others. At the Tales of
the Cocktail Spirited Awards, Ford has been the recipient of the Best Brand Ambassador Award twice for
his work on Plymouth Gin. He then held the role of chairman for the festival’s awards and co-hosted for
several years, continuing to play an integral role in its production.
Wanting to take his years of experience in the spirits world and offer the industry a true bartenders’
portfolio of brands — In 2012 Ford co-founded the startup spirits company The 86 Co. with his fellow
principal founders, and created Fords London Dry Gin, as versatile cocktail gin, with Simon as the CEO.
Then, in 2019, Simon Ford led the company to its purchase by Brown-Forman where he currently serves
Managing Director of the brand.
