<\/a><\/p>\n The Midwest regionals were hosted this week in Las Vegas for the USBG World Class<\/a> bartender competition. Michigan had a strong showing by sending not one but two bartenders out of the 12 slots. That there is news alone. Casey Miller, of The Last Word<\/a>, and Shelby Minnix, of Sugar House Detroit<\/a> both gave it their all at the event.<\/p>\n In the end, Casey Miller was selected with two others in the regional competition and is heading to finals in Louisville, KY June 4th-6th. He will compete to head to the world competition in Berlin. This is the 4th time in 5 years that The Last Word has been represented in Nationals. That bar certainly has the secret sauce when it comes to training amazing talent.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n I spoke to Casey as he was flying home from the competition to get his take on the event. The challenge was grueling consisting of 3 challenges over 6 hours.<\/p>\n For the Speed Round he created The Harajuku consisting of Ciroc<\/a> French Vanilia Vodka, Black Pepper, Pear Liqueur, Lemon, Honey and Egg White. This was inspired by a recent trip he took to Toyko and he tried a locally made infused aquavit.<\/p>\n For the Culinary Pairing Round he made a drink that paid tribute to one of the judges. The Meltzer’s Skye Seltzer (based on famed bartender & judge Andrew Meltzer<\/a>) was a play on Andrew’s Scottish heritage and of course the rhyme. It included; Talisker Single Malt Whisky<\/a>, Poblano pepper, lemon peel, sea salt, basil, brown sugar, honey and seltzer water. “It was clever of him to incorporate those personal details into a unique and flavorful drink.” said Andrew Meltzer when I reached out to him for comment. “My favorite thing about the cocktail was the element of surprise: I\u2019ve never had a Scotch cocktail that was so damn refreshing.”<\/p>\n