Last fall, I wandered the halls of Brooklyn’s Industry City in a half-drunken awe; I’d never seen so many great bartenders in one place, all cranking out their best variations of the most classic of all cocktails: the martini. I was at Martini Expo, and it was one of the best cocktail events I’d ever experienced. This year, the expo is coming to Chicago, and I sat down with organizer (and cocktail writer extraordinaire) Robert Simonson to learn more.

Simonson and Expo co-founder Mary Kate Murray came up with the idea of a martini-based event, but they weren’t sure how it would work out.

“Mary Kate and I are journalists, and journalists are not normally the people who stage cocktail conventions; it’s a different skill set.” But their effort was a hit, filled with educational seminars, cocktail tastings, and vendors. “We invited all of the people that we know from the industry and have known for 20 years who we know are smart and would have something to say about the martini.”

It was supposed to be a one-time-only event, but it was so popular — and attendees kept asking about next year — that they decided to repeat it. Simonson relocated to Milwaukee late last year, and Chicago seemed like a logical choice for the second iteration.

“If we did it in New York again, it would be the same event; we’d ask the same New York people,” Simonson explains. “It would just be an echo.”

This time, the event is going to be a Martini Expo week. From September 13 through 20, Chicago will burst with all things shaken and stirred. Bars around town will offer special drinks in honor of the event, along with an accompanying dinner series. (Some of the details are still coming together, but watch the website.)

One new event this year will be a martini tour of Chicago: Simonson will take a group of martini superfans on a journey around the city, learning about sites of historical importance to the martini. Did you know that one of the first written recipes for a martini, back in 1888, was laid down by a Chicago bartender?

On September 19, guests can attend the “Martini Masters” party, hosted at Hawksmoor. Bartenders from across the city will take over the bar to make their own signature versions of the cocktail; it’s like the best bar crawl ever, but in one building. On September 20, an educational side of Martini Expo will feature seminars on everything from the nature of American gin to vermouth to the historic relationship between Chicago and the martini.

As of right now, ticket sales haven’t started yet; Simonson says they’ll launch in early July. But if you sign up on the website, you can be among the first to get updates on all things martini.