I’m not sure this thread and its tone are quite fair (to use a word the Brits love) to Ryan Chetiyawardana. I’ve drank on a regular basis first at bars he worked at and then at bars he owned since 2011. The first time I met him, at Purl, I was blown away by his Sazerac – in fact, my wife realized she could love strong cocktails there and then. The last time I had one of his (or his team’s) drinks – at Lyannes last April – I fell in love with his Queenie Harvard – a version of the Harvard involving a bit of trickery.
I’ve been aware of his microwaving since 2014 (I think), when I was writing my vermouth book. I had heard about the ‘microwaved’ vermouth he sometimes used and wanted to know more. I didn’t mention it in the final book – but then again I didn’t include a home-made vermouth recipe either. I’m conservative like that. That the microwave bit – something he never really insisted on previously, to my recollection – seems to be central to the marketing plan put together for the States probably says more about the marketplace that about Chetiyawardana.
Ryan Chetiyawardana is a Conigliaro / Drinks Factory alumni. If you’ve ever been to a Conigliaro bar, you know the drinks are involved but that most of it is kept in the lab – you don’t need to be told about it to enjoy the drinks. Chetiyawardana’s approach has been to mention the techniques but, by and large, to keep it accessible or understandable by the general public. And ‘fun’. In his books, most of Tony C’s recipes are impossible to reproduce. Chetiyawardana’s are a pain but it can be done.
I’m not sure either of you guys will enjoy the cocktails but if you have the chance, give it a try. I’m, at heart, a grumpy ‘don’t mess with my Manhattan’ kind of drinker but I consider Ryan Chetiyawardana to be one of the most thoughtful bartenders around.