http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/dining/white-lyan-in-east-london-a-bar-beyond-the-status-quo.html 2014-09-15 23:39:19 White Lyan in East London: A Bar Beyond the Status Quo A motivation for the White Lyan in East London was ingredient and production control, born of the question, “Is this the best version of the drinks we want to put out?” === LONDON — More so than drinkers in American cocktail capitals like New York and San Francisco, barflies in London seem to like their drink with a side of theater. But White Lyan is the work of Ryan Chetiyawardana (pronounced Chay-thee-a-WARD-thun-a), who studied art, biology and philosophy on his way to becoming a bartender, and brings a bit of each discipline to the bar. When searching for a space for White Lyan, he scoured East London, “an area where people were doing things differently,” he said. “East London is a hub for creativity at the moment.” Mr. Chetiyawardana, 30, who has the mild but confident manner of a college teaching assistant, said he was frustrated that, when questioning standard bar practices, he was always told, “ ‘Well, that’s the way it’s always been done.’ ” “I don’t believe that’s the right answer to things,” he said. “ ‘It’s traditional’ is a good answer. But ‘Because it’s always been done that way’ is sort of just accepting the status quo.” Another motivation behind the bar, he said, was ingredient and production control, born of the question, “Is this the best version of the drinks we want to put out?”  And so White Lyan uses its own house spirits, which it buys directly from distillers. (He wouldn’t say which.) White spirits are made to his specifications. Aged stock like whiskey is blended and then diluted with White Lyan’s own water. Yes, even the water is in-house: filtered London tap water that has been spiked with a custom mineral content. The cocktails are then premixed, bottled and refrigerated, rather than stirred over ice. (Mr. Chetiyawardana is working on a new botany-focused bar, Dandelyan, that will use ice and fresh ingredients. It’s scheduled to open Oct. 1.) All this meticulous preparation does not seem to put off patrons. Alastair Burgess, who owns the East London cocktail bar “I always looked at it like Anette Moldvaer, the owner of Indeed, Mr. Chetiyawardana is perfectly content if you choose to ignore the bartender and just go imbibe downstairs, a clublike space where D.J.s play. “Some people want to know everything about our drinks, and we will tell them,” he said. “Some people just want to get a tasty drink.”