Ryan Chetiyawardana, better known as Mr Lyan, has redefined what modern cocktail culture can be. From pioneering sustainability in bars to winning some of the world’s most prestigious awards, his work consistently pushes boundaries. In this interview, Chetiyawardana reflects on his journey, creative philosophy, and how his Washington D.C. bar Silver Lyan explores new ideas through its latest menu, The Butterfly Effect.
Background & Journey
You’ve been recognized as one of the most influential bartenders in the world, with projects that have reshaped cocktail culture. Looking back, what originally drew you into the world of hospitality?
I was always looking for something that allowed me to explore my studies in both the arts and the sciences, but I was always looking for something that put people at the heart of things (which I personally didn’t find when I was in kitchens). When I started working on the bar side of things, I found I was able to express all these interests, but with the amazing discovery that the output could help bring people together and flip people’s moods in the most amazing way. Making people happy was a very contagious thing to be part of!
Over the years, your work has combined creativity, sustainability, and storytelling. What values or philosophies have guided you the most through your career?
Having worked for lots of different people over the years, and working with my sisters on what we wanted to do that could sit alongside the amazing things that already existed in the industry, we knew the focus for the Lyan company wanted to be innovation, and doing good. Good Things became our founding mantra, but in a very wide sense. I wanted to show that hospitality could be a viable long-term career, and that it could interact in a much wider variety of spaces and applications than it had traditionally been found, and to show that innovation should be at the heart of what we do to enable this. Creativity, sustainability, storytelling, and putting people first were then logical aspects of this direction.
Was there a defining moment that changed the way you think about cocktails and hospitality?
I think a lot of my outlook had been formed by working in so many different styles of venues, but it was really when I was at Bramble that the idea of meaningful innovation and putting the experience first really crystallized. Mike and Jas made this the focus – great drinks, great music, meaningful hosting – and it was so great to see a venue make that the positioning rather than any sort of theme to the venue. This is where things really clicked for me. The guys also encouraged my thinking, so when I asked whether we could use very alternative ingredients, or pull in some of my studies into our practice, they really let me run wild with that thinking. It showed me that we could really push things in the bar space.
Approach to Creativity
People often associate you with innovation and rethinking what a bar can be. How do you keep your ideas fresh and continue pushing boundaries?
By being able to work as a team and to pool and bounce off our insights and diverse backgrounds, we have been much more effective in our creative output. But it has also stemmed from being sensitive to the changes in the world and creating meaningful responses to that.
Where do you usually find inspiration outside of bars—art, science, travel?
All places! My background in art, philosophy, and science definitely means I still look to that for inspiration, but being able to travel and learn from new perspectives has always been so powerful to me.
Silver Lyan & The Butterfly Effect
Silver Lyan is a very distinct space, set in a former bank vault in Washington D.C. How does the venue itself shape the identity of the bar?
The concept for the bar was really born out of the city and the space. Being in a former bank, Jacu – our designer and Lore Studio creative director – had this line of “a public space for private affairs,” and we used the architecture of the space with its nooks and crannies to create both the concept and the visuals of the bar. We also wanted something that balanced a sense of grandeur that suited the concept whilst retaining some of the rawness that was part of the space.
Your latest menu, The Butterfly Effect, explores how small actions can create big ripple effects. What first inspired you to explore this concept through cocktails?
Over the last few menus, we had been looking at the idea of movement in a very lateral way; we took the central idea of cultural exchange that is at the heart of the venue and explored it in a variety of ways. But we found this idea of positive growth could have wider implications when we dialed out and looked at the bigger picture, and this is what we wanted to focus on for this menu.
How did you and your team turn that theme into drinks? Can you share a specific example of a cocktail that tells this story best?
We use the stories as the jumping-off point, then use some of the sentiments from this research to inform the techniques and the ingredients – and the weight and profile of the drink. A good example is the It’s Alive! 75, a riff on a French 75 inspired by the origin points of both sci-fi and sexy vampires being born from a volcanic eruption in the 19th century. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we apply electrolysis to make berries and madeira taste more “alive,” controlling both oxidation and the development of berry aromatics in a manner that we wouldn’t have done without having been led down the path by the story.
Do you see hospitality itself as having a “butterfly effect,” in the way a small interaction can shift someone’s day or perspective?
Absolutely! Our goal is to take people out of their comfort zones but ultimately, we try to make everyone’s day brighter and introduce an unexpected slice of happiness into their life. Some of these are overt and we have the opportunity to really engage in their evening, but sometimes it’s little acts of care that aren’t dwelled on, but you know can have a powerful impact – either immediately or in a knock-on effect way down the line. I think this is one of the fundamental reasons people end up working in the industry, and we’re really proud to have put in systems and procedures – as well as empowering the team – to make this the focus of what we do.
What do you hope guests take away from experiencing The Butterfly Effect at Silver Lyan—beyond the drinks themselves?
There’s a lovely notion to realizing that everything is connected, and that there’s beauty to be found in every little thing. We always want to present something that excites us but also feels exciting to every person, so I hope this menu can be a great illumination into thinking wide while looking for joy in things.
Looking Forward
You’ve achieved so much already, from opening groundbreaking bars to winning global awards. What keeps you motivated to continue creating and experimenting?
A main goal for Lyan – aside from doing “good things” – is to show that our industry can be wide, can be a viable long-term career, and can be regarded as much a powerful creative force as any other expression. So there’s definitely an excitement to push in lots of different directions. It’s also endless what we get to explore, from working with amazing bars, the world’s best restaurants, and beautiful venues across the world through to working with microbiologists, material scientists, agronomists, governmental bodies, and more. Showing that the world of hospitality is wide and can be a force for good is so important to me.
Where do you see the next big shifts in cocktail culture, and how does Silver Lyan fit into that vision?
Silver Lyan has a perfect balance of high and low, and playful and deep thinking. I’m so excited and inspired by what the team does, but I’m also so thankful we have guests who are excited to try new things and to join in our journey of discovery and exploration. This is what is allowing us to really kick into sixth gear now. I think with this – and a general move away from social trends and the same expressions cropping up across disparate venues and spaces – we’re going to see a much more genuine, and much more innovative spurt coming through soon. There’s going to be a move from homogeneity and what is “right,” and this is going to unlock so many more exciting and delicious things.
