“I was lucky enough to come up in, and eventually manage, a bar in a restaurant whose chef and owner was at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement,” says Nikki Irvine, one of the Best New Bartenders of 2026. “Having acquired a deep appreciation for nature from living in Oregon my whole life, it was both eye-opening and familiar to witness how to translate what was happening outside onto a plate or into a glass.” Walking to work one day after it rained, they got the idea to translate the “wet-earth smell” (aka petrichor) into a cocktail, which they did by combining a woodsy gin, herbal génépy and amaro, rosemary and a finishing mist of absinthe. Guests loved the drink. “It was one of the first times I truly felt validated as a bartender and really felt myself become familiar with ingredients and how to balance them,” they say.
Petrichor
Nikki Irvine | Eugene, Oregon
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 ounce gin, such as St. George Terroir
- 1/2 ounce Old Tom gin, such as Ransom
- 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo
- 1/4 ounce génépy, such as Dolin
- 1/4 ounce Amaro Braulio
Garnish: rosemary sprig, absinthe mist from an atomizer
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice.
- Strain into a rocks glass over a big cube.
- Garnish with a small rosemary sprig.
- Spritz the atomizer about 18 inches away from the glass; the aim is to create a fine misted layer over the drink rather than a full rinse of the glass.
