“Really, where it all started was on the back of a napkin…”
How do you build an empire from the back of a napkin? Simon Ford can tell you all about it. What began as a crazy idea to create the ultimate cocktail gin exploded into an award-winning product that quickly took the world by storm. Fords Gin’s versatile and viscous flagship gin has been a hit from day one – now they’ve released an LP of curated hits.
The kind you can enjoy while sipping your favorite bartender’s favorite cocktail.
Thanks to a powerhouse partnership between Simon Ford, brand-builder Kevin Dowell, and legendary record producer Dan The Automator, the idea of London Dry Records was formed. With renewed fervor for record-collecting coming at the same time as the rise in at-home bartending, London Dry Records sprung to life at the perfect time to unite two timeless passions.
“We were looking at the creative process of making food, making drinks, and making music,” Ford tells Uproxx.
“Transitioning that energy into a product and piece of art that could stand the test of time and be shared widely was the obvious next step,” Dowell adds.
The first release from Fords Gin was the long-awaited return of Handsome Boy Modeling School, who ended a nearly 20-year hiatus to create Music To Drink Martinis To.
How do you follow up on such a groundbreaking first trick? By graduating from the world’s most classic cocktail to its most sophisticated. Thus, The Negroni Sessions was born.
Dowell says the group wanted to blend elegant and eclectic recipes with a soundscape that would bring that beauty to life.
“How great would it be to have a record with no skips? That from start to finish is just Negroni drinking music.”
This brand-new curated playlist features everything from funky and refined Latin jazz tracks to urbane and upbeat French pop electronica, offering up a 9-track journey paired with carefully selected cocktail recipes from some of the world’s leading bartenders.
If a famed contemporary director were to recreate a classic vintage Italian film, Ford wonders, “What would the soundtrack be?”
Armed with that creative brief, he and Dowell partnered with Jazz Dispensary (who they describe as “music aficionados at the highest level”) to come up with the selected soundtrack before enlisting Dan The Automator to put the final touches on it. An original remix of “Everything Counts” by Dan the Automator serves as the record’s pièce de resistance.
Each song is meant to perfectly set the tone for each specialty Negroni. By capturing the world-wise vibe of the surprisingly simple cocktail (made with three equal parts of gin, Italian bitters, and sweet vermouth with an orange peel garnish), Fords Gin is offering its fans a multi-sensory experience that works just as well at home as it does in the belly of your favorite bar.
Perusing the recipes that accompany each track, you’ll notice a mix of approachable and elevated cocktails. Ford urges fans to engage with each unique drink and try making them yourself, reminding us, “when all else fails, it’s hard to make a bad Negroni.” Nestled among the list of classics, riffs, and original creations is a show-stopping green Negroni, made with MidoriTM liqueur, that doubles as both a delicious drink and the perfect visual pairing for the vinyl’s mid-century inspired artwork.
As part of The Negroni Sessions, in addition to a bottle bundle exclusively available on ReserveBar.com. Fords Gin will host listening parties across the U.S. to bring the immersive experiment to life. The worlds of drinks and music both orbit the idea of enjoying oneself, so crafting a series of casual but cosmopolitan soirées stood out as a key piece of The Negroni Sessions equation.
For the launch event in New York, Fords Gin brought out the legendary DJ Stretch Armstrong to punch up the vibes. The event also served as a showcase for some of the bartenders who created cocktail recipes for The Negroni Sessions vinyl. Naturally, that piece was vital to Fords Gin, who have always kept their appreciation of bartenders and the service industry at the heart of their brand’s initiatives.
According to Ford, “We designed our liquid with bartenders along with the expertise of one of the most celebrated gin distillers in the world, so we felt that we should (remember) that with everything else we do.”
If you missed out on the NYC launch event, keep an eye out for additional soon-to-be-announced Negroni Sessions in other cities. For the full at-home experience, the bottle bundle can be found exclusively on ReserveBar.com.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY.
Fords Gin London Dry Gin, 45% ALC/VOL, The Fords Gin Co., Louisville, KY.
Fords Gin is a registered trademark. ©2025 Brown-Forman Corporation.
