At Blanda, the cocktail ingredients go on the grill

At Blanda, on Aleksanterinkatu in central Helsinki, the grill works for the bar too. Finnish cherry tomatoes go on it, and so does the fat used to flavour the whiskey. The technique is an old bartender's trick called a fat wash: melted fat is stirred into the spirit, the mix is chilled, and the solid fat is strained off. What stays behind is the flavour and a softer, rounder feel.

Bartender Matias Nästi says a cocktail should work with food, but also on its own.

Aleksanterinkatu 22, Helsinki

Matias's three pairings

Grillattu OF (grilled Old Fashioned) and truffle popcorn
Bourbon and rye fat-washed with grilled fat, cane sugar, chocolate and aromatic bitters, and a cherry. This is Matias's own favourite: "A warm hug in this windy weather." He thinks the fat is the most surprising ingredient in the drink: "It caramelises the flavour and rounds it out." On the side, truffle popcorn, because "there's corn in both, bourbon is made from corn". If you know the classic Old Fashioned, this is a good next step.

Uumami and tartare
Grilled Finnish cherry tomatoes, wasabi, gochujang, light soy sauce, mezcal and vodka, topped with wasabi oil. This was our favourite. The first sip tastes like a classic Bloody Mary, and then a whole new world of flavour opens up. Lovely layers. On the side, a tartare of tuna, smoked mussels and gochujang.

Rebirth as an aperitif
Crafter's Wild Forest gin, blood orange, pomegranate, vegan thyme foam and black lime powder. Rebirth won Cocktail of the Year at Helsinki Drink Festival in spring 2026. Matias serves it to start the evening, when you want "something crisp".

After work

Blanda draws a local after-work crowd for a small drink and a snack. The menu also has lightly grilled, dry-aged Finnish beef tartare, thinly sliced Black Angus, smoked olives and boquerones in chilli oil.

We'd start with the Uumami. In the previous part of the series we visited Iki on Kalevankatu.

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