One of D.C.’s Best Bars Just Launched a Menu Built on Myths, Monsters and Urban Legends — and Yes, There’s Even a Bigfoot Negroni

There’s a monster lurking in your martini. At least, that’s the premise at Silver Lyan, where the Loch Ness legend has found its way into a cocktail glass, Bigfoot has developed a taste for aperitivo and one drink is designed to taste like grilled tarantula. Folklore, the new menu at Ryan Chetiyawardana’s award-winning bar beneath Riggs Washington, D.C., takes its cues from ancient myths, family memories, urban legends and those dubious “facts” that somehow survived the early internet.

Believe what you like. Just order another round.

Developed by general manager Alex Leidy and head bartender Sam Nellis with the Mr Lyan creative team, the menu turns our collective imagination into very good drinking. And the setting helps: Silver Lyan lives in a former bank vault on the hotel’s lower level, which already feels like somewhere secrets change hands. Deep autumnal tones, an intimate Champagne Booth and a restored vault room called The Cabinet supply the atmosphere. The drinks supply the plot.

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Bigfoot Walks Into a Bar

Folklore opens with Cryptids, a section dedicated to creatures whose cultural staying power has proved far stronger than the evidence for their existence.

The Loch Ness Martini channels Scotland through vodka, gorse sherry, sour strawberry vermouth and jasmine, an aromatic take on the country’s most famous aquatic mystery and considerably more fun than standing by a lake waiting for something to surface.

Then there’s the Bigfoot Negroni, which takes The Botanist gin, forest fruit vermouth, Campari and pine sherry into the woods, giving the bittersweet classic a fittingly forested twist. (I’d go looking for this one.) A Green Bear Mojito and Scooby Sour round out the section, should your taste in mythical creatures run elsewhere.

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

A Little History With Your Happy Hour

Social Lore moves from elusive creatures to the stories people build together, drawing on migration, mythology and historical mysteries.

The Ellis Island Punch brings old- and new-world flavors into a savory mix of Tequila Ocho Plata, mezcal, olive and sweetcorn whip, sour pineapple and lime, an order for anyone who likes their cocktail with some culinary ambition.

Ancient Greece gets its moment in a tropical mezcal drink with bronze fennel yogurt, mango and lime, inspired by Achilles and the discovery of Troy’s ruins. The Vanishing Manhattan nods to the lost colony of Roanoke, and the Stone Banana Gimlet explores the mysteries of visual folklore. Clearly, there’s more to talk about here than gin versus vodka.

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Something to Keep You Up at Night

Cautionary Tales is where things get truly entertaining, depending on how you feel about spiders.

The Tarantula Iced Tea takes its cue from the myth that people swallow spiders in their sleep. Before you put down your glass: the ingredients are Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond, buckwheat tea and lemongrass hemp foam, which the team uses to evoke the flavors of grilled tarantula. No actual arachnids, but it will absolutely move the conversation along.

The Boogeyman Old Fashioned draws on El Coco, the legendary monster painted by Goya, pairing Teeling whiskey with coconut, oak leaf and bitters. The Volcano Spritz and Nightbreeze Snap carry the storytelling to Hawaiian traditions around the goddess Pele and South Korean myths about fans.

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Yes, There Are Tater Tots

For those who prefer their drinking less supernatural, the Lyan Classics stay firmly in place: the Project Manhattan and Season’s Sazerac sit alongside the signature Silver Service Martini, which lets you choose between two classic profiles and customize your garnishes.

Silver Lyan’s Jell-O shots get a new addition, too, a Pornstar Martini version made with Elyx vodka, passionfruit and vanilla. Pair it with tater tots, halloumi fries or the duck grilled cheese and you’ve got a compelling argument for staying underground a while longer.

Ultimately, Folklore gives one of the country’s most accomplished cocktail teams a seriously fun playground. Come for the technique, stay for the storytelling and leave having ordered something called a Bigfoot Negroni.

Try explaining that one the next morning.

Haute Living Verdict: The most fun menu in D.C. this fall. Order the Bigfoot Negroni first, the Tarantula Iced Tea on a dare.

Silver Lyan is located inside Riggs Washington, D.C., at 900 F Street NW.

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Photo Credit: Silver Lyan

Read More

More to sip and savor from Haute Living:

• Dante Aperitivo NYC Review
• Dante Beverly Hills Brings Italian Aperitivo Culture to the Rooftop of The Maybourne Beverly Hills
• Haute Living Launches Haute Black Travel, the Ultimate Luxury Travel Concierge