“If you understand what goes on in gin, you understand cocktails,” declared Audrey Saunders, proprietor of Pegu Club cocktail bar in New York, and co-moderator of the Gin Symposium held this Spring in Los Angeles. She along with co-moderator Simon Ford, Director of Trade Outreach and Brand Education for Pernod Ricard, hosted an afternoon of gin cocktails and education.The day kicked off with trans-Atlantic experts Jared Brown and Anastasia Miller lecturing on the evolution of gin and its historical relationship with England and her colonies. As early as the 1500’s, genever – a Dutch relative of gin today – found a loyal fan-base in what we now call the United Kingdom. From the “Gin Craze” of the 1700’s to the Tippling Act (a tax on the many illegally run stills) to the recent defining of what can be called a truly English gin, this controversial spirit is at the heart of the cocktail revolution.Any raw material can be distilled into a neutral eau de vie, but in order to be categorized as gin, it must be infused with juniper. From there, other botanicals run from citrusy to floral to aromatic. The Master Distillers from Plymouth, Sean Harrison, and Beefeater, Desmond Payne, explained that unlike gins from other parts of the world, an English gin is “a one-shot distillation with all the botanicals in it at the same time.” Nothing can be added to it after distillation, apart from water, used to dilute the alcohol content.Beefeater is the only brand of gin still made within London’s city limits, making it a hallmark for what’s referred to as “London gin.” After nearly 4 decades of distilling original formulas, Payne came out with his own gin interpretation in 2008. In addition to juniper, coriander, bitter orange peel, lemon peel, angelica root, angelica seed, almond, licorice and orris root present in the original Beefeater recipe, Payne’s baby, Beefeater 24, also incorporates black tea, green tea and grapefruit. The result is a robust, earthy, fresh gin, which sips well on its own and mixes beautifully in cocktails.However, my favorite gin in the London category is Beefeater’s Summer gin. This variation is also based on the original Beefeater recipe but this time with the additions of elderflower, hibiscus and black currant. It is fresh and floral without being sweet or girly. Mixed with a splash of dry vermouth it makes the perfect summer martini (all year round).That is what makes gin such a fascinating spirit - even after 500 years, there is still plenty of room to expand new horizons in mixology’s renaissance spirit.