ABOUT MR LYAN

Opening your own business with just a desire and an idea is not so easy. First of all, you should contact a marketing plan writing service to look at the goals and prospects of your startup. And only then, having made sure of the "inspiration", as well as attracting data about the material component and investments, start building a business.

That most studious of bartending gentlemen, Mr Lyan (Ryan Chetiyawardana) opened White Lyan at the end of 2013, where he’s created arguably one of the most inventive cocktail menus in the world. It’s the first cocktail bar globally to use no perishables whatsoever, no fruit and even no ice, meaning the amount of waste is significantly lower than any other bar.

It also means that there is meticulous attention to detail, where every single drink is handcrafted in-house, using only Mr Lyan’s own spirits and tinctures, and where no other brands feature in the bar. This means that you get a drink at White Lyan that you can get nowhere else in the world. After so much interest, he is launching five brand new handcrafted cocktails, ready to chill and drink, at Selfridges in summer 2014.

His very good name preceded him long before his physical arrival in London thanks to his many outstanding achievements in the service of the world renowned Bramble in Edinburgh. Ryan is a deeply committed bar professional who has bartended as long as he has been legally permitted, an admirable ten years and counting. Mr Lyan grew up in a place where food and drink were the heart of the household.

Looking to develop this passion, he began his career training as a chef. Loving the personal interaction he had with his guests when entertaining at home, as a chef he found himself yearning to get out of the kitchen to have a chat. And on the way, he quickly got tempted to step behind the bar…

This was just during the time when he was doing a BA and MA at Edinburgh University. Calling on his experience studying Fine Arts as well as Biology and Philosophy, he found the bar perfect for both entertaining and creativity. He found he could tailor his recipes to individual tastes and whilst experimenting, developed an acute palate and was able to nurture his creative streak.

Ryan went on to win several high profile competitions including 2009 UK Bartender of the Year in the Diageo World Class competition, and went on to be placed in the global top 3. He also placed 2nd globally after being crowned UK Bartender of the Year at the 2012 Havana Club Grand Prix. He has recently been nominated at Tales of the Cocktail for International Bartender of the Year 2014 with White Lyan a finalist for Best New International Cocktail Bar.

Ryan was also named ‘Hot Stuff’ at the Imbibe Awards 2012, and was named ‘Innovator of the Year’ at the 2014 awards. He was named in Wallpaper’s ‘Next Generation’ list in January 2014, is the ‘Spirits Ambassador’ for Imbibe Live, the cocktail writer for The Huffington Post and is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

As Mr Lyan, has recently opened two bars – Henry at the Hudson hotel in New York, and White Lyan in London. The hotly-anticipated third bar from Mr Lyan, Dandelyan, is opening at the Mondrian Hotel in London in September 2014, with Mr Lyan cocktail miniatures in the mini bars of each hotel room. You can follow new developments here, at White Lyan or at www.facebook.com/MrLyan If you’d like to get in touch with him, send an email to: [email protected]