Gin and sauerkraut juice were among the ingredients in A Norwegian Abroad, the cocktail that won Blood & Sand‘s Matt Osmoe top honors at Bombay Sapphire’s World’s Most Imaginative Bartender regional competition in Nashville on Monday, Aug. 11. It was his first competition outside of St. Louis.
“I was shocked, honestly,” he said. “I had confidence in the cocktail, but it’s a very different ballgame than being behind your home bar talking to guests and getting them what they’d like.”
Osmoe represented St. Louis against five qualifying bartenders from four other Midwest cities: Kansas City, Nashville, Louisville, Kentucky and Birmingham, Alabama. His gin-based creation included egg white, sauerkraut and lemon juices and was served with a side of smoked trout on a bed of dill. “The idea was to compliment the cocktail, which is bright and has a sour umami,” he said. “The side of fish had fat, oil and smoke. The two things combined together really well.”
Osmoe will head to Las Vegas at the end of August to compete in the finals. The format of the four-day mix-off hasn’t been announced, but Osmoe will head to Sin City prepared to do his town proud. “I’m excited to go and hoping to represent St. Louis well,” he said.
-photo by Ed Allen
This article appears in August 2015.