In the first episode of television series Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips, the eponymous British bartender goes behind the scenes at the first malt whisky distillery to open in Japan a century ago.
The host, whose actual name is Ryan Chetiyawardana, meets Shinji Fukuyo, master blender at Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka.
He also chats to Hidetsugu Ueno, one of Japan’s best known bartenders, who makes him a White Lady cocktail at his Bar High Five in Tokyo, and visits a convenience store to recommend his pick of RTDs (ready-to-drink cocktails).
Chetiyawardana, who has won dozens of bartending awards, owns multiple bars. His Dandelyan establishment, now closed, topped the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2018.
Ryan Chetiyawardana, host of Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips, samples a dram of whisky with Yamazaki Distillery’s master blender Shinji Fukuyo. Photo: Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips
Each 30-plus-minute episode of his travel show is available on the Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips YouTube and Instagram channels and is screened in the United States on ReachTV, the airport TV network that claims a viewership of 50 million.
AloJapan.com