Gone are the days of it being mother’s ruin – gin is shaking up the best bars around town. It even has its own festival – Juniperlooza.

Billed as Australia’s first event dedicated to juniper juice, the two-day celebration of gin in all its guises returns to Federation Wharf next month after last year’s inaugural fest was such a spirited success.

It is gin’s diversity that makes it such a versatile drink for all tastes, according to Trish Brew of Gin Palace. She will be kicking off the festival with a masterclass covering the history of gin, artisan styles of today, the categories of different drops and how to choose the best gin for your tastes.

“Gin has to be juniper-led, of course, but it has lots of different flavour profiles, lots of different herbs, roots, peels and botanicals that can be used,” she says. “Whether you like savoury gins, floral gins, citrusy gins, dry gins, I think there’s a gin out there for everybody. With so many flavour profiles, it’s all about finding the right one for you.”

Some of the 24 local and international artisan gin makers who’ll be showcasing their wares include Melbourne Gin Company, Prohibition Liquor Co, Rogue Society, West Winds Gin and Four Pillars from the Yarra Valley.

“Four Pillars is such a fierce and fabulous gin. It’s one that’s got a lot of non-gin drinkers into trying it,” Brew says. “It’s one of the trailblazers.” The Four Pillars team will be serving their Who Shot Tom Collins cocktail creation over the two days, with lemon myrtle and cassia bark syrup mixed with their Bloody Shiraz gin – made from steeping Yarra Valley shiraz grapes in rare dry gin for eight weeks.

And the cocktail Brew makes to convert any nay-sayers into new-gin slayers? “I really like to make a Southside. It’s like a gin mojito. Lots of gin, fresh mint, fresh lime, hint of sugar, shaken until nice and cold. It’s a drink to drink when you’re not sure what you want to drink!”

Juniperlooza 2016, November 19-20, Federation Wharf, early bird tickets $25 until October 31, pilgrimbar.com.au/juniperlooza/