At the New York Gin Symposium on Monday, top bartenders and cocktail chroniclers got a major dose of this fragrant spirit, as well as the inside scoop about its genesis, major styles and libationary uses.

Bar guru Gary Regan was the event’s ringleader, with historical gravitas provided by writers like Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller (co-authors of Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini). Master distillers Desmond Payne (Beefeater) and Sean Harrison (Plymouth) walked us through the spirit’s variants, from Dutch genever to the iconic London Dry, the less juniper-driven Plymouth to  new-world gins like Hendrick’s. U.K. spirits evangelists Dre Masso and Dan Warner mixed up classic and creative cocktails with flair, style and charming accents. But Regan’s Everest cocktail was the most astonishing: It married Beefeater 24, Coco Lopez, fresh lemon juice and curry powder (!). Fabulous.—Michael Anstendig