Food, Home & Lifestyle
Mr Lyan’s Philosophy on World Class Cocktails
Lesson time 04:16 min
Ryan believes cocktails can boost your mood by bringing people together. World class cocktails aren’t about obscure ingredients or fancy equipment, he says—they’re about the people and the occasions you’re making them for.
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Topics include: Mr Lyan’s Philosophy on World Class Cocktails
Teach Mixology
World-class bartenders Lynnette and Ryan (aka Mr Lyan) teach you how to make perfect cocktails at home for any mood or occasion.
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[00:00:00.97] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:07.25] - Hi. I'm Ryan Chetiyawardana. Or I often go as Mr. Lyan. My surname is quite long and complicated. And it's a family business. So that's a nice throwback to actually a childhood nickname that I had, where kids were kind of mispronouncing Ryan and Lyan. [00:00:21.44] To me, cocktails are magic. They are something, you know, a little biased, but more than any other foodstuff to help you kind of combine, or bolster, or complement a mood better than anything else. And there's something about them that just really helps bring together people in a really quite wonderful way. [00:00:38.84] I grew up in the UK. And I was always interested in both arts and sciences. And with my studies, I tried to explore a little bit of that. I started in kitchens. I learned to be a chef. And I quickly moved into the bartending world alongside that. [00:00:53.57] And it became the parallel throughout all my studies. I studied biology. And I really wanted to delve into some of the kind of human side of those things, trying to understand why people gather, why we think-- do things the way that we do and why we enjoy some of these kind of weird and wonderful plants and flavors. [00:01:08.78] And the thing that really enamored me to the world of bartending was not only do I get a chance to work with flavors, but I got to really bring that to my friends and family. It was the thing that I always loved. [00:01:19.52] So I've kind of grown up through a variety of different bars. And over the years, I've started to open some of my own and branch out into different forms of how we can explore food and drink, and wonderful ingredients, and different cultures from around the world, and showcase them to people in hopefully some unusual and interesting ways. [00:01:37.44] But the stuff that I do in the venues is-- it's kind of complicated. You know, some of the things could take 50 steps to be able to make, or they could take three weeks for it to ferment out. And that's not stuff that-- I mean, even as somebody who's involved in this world, I don't tend to do those at home. I love going to the venues. And it's a different chance to kind of explore something new. [00:01:56.75] But when I invite people around, it's always about having things connect in a much more easy manner. I don't want to be able to have something that takes me away from hanging out with my friends or means that I have to put so much preparation into it that I don't get to sit down and enjoy it with them. [00:02:12.47] I want to delve into how you can have these world class drinks in your home. It's not about having fanciful equipment or ingredients that nobody can get hold of. It's using the things that you know and love, things around your house, bits of equipment that can make your life a little easier. But it's delving into a little bit of the practicality-- how you can make these drinks work better for you-- things that make it a little bit more delicious,...
About the Instructor
James Beard honoree Lynnette Marrero has been at the forefront of the NYC craft cocktail movement. Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) is the founder of Dandelyan, named the world’s best bar. They will teach you the essentials of cocktail making, from developing your palate to building your home bar. Learn how to mix a perfectly balanced drink for every occasion and mood—and become your friends’ new favorite bartender.
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Lynnette Marrero & Ryan Chetiyawardana
World-class bartenders Lynnette and Ryan (aka Mr Lyan) teach you how to make perfect cocktails at home for any mood or occasion.
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