Ten Recipes From the Best New Bartenders of 2026

For the Best New Bartenders of 2026, inspiration comes from everywhere: seasonal ingredients in their own restaurants’ gardens, sense memories from where they grew up, even nostalgic flavors like Mountain Dew Baja Blast. They pair high and low, the natural with the playfully manipulated, and their drinks all tell a story of how they got here and what they bring to the bar. If you’re lucky enough to visit them while they’re behind the stick, you should absolutely do so. But the next best thing is to get to know them through their signature drinks. Here are a few of their excellent recipes.

Jakob McCabe-Johnston | Atlanta, Georgia

Locality and seasonality are central to Jakob McCabe-Johnson’s work. For the Blueberry Bijou, a seasonal riff on the classic, he maintained the original’s gin and green Chartreuse but swapped in his own ingredients, like wormwood extract and a blueberry cordial made with local, in-season fruit, acid powders and crème de mûre. With the leftover pulp from the cordial, he also makes a vinegar to accent the drink. The finishing touch to the recipe is a flower garnish from the restaurant’s garden.