17
EZthe washington post.
W friday, february 21, 2020
ashington is a hungry city, always
on the lookout for the buzziest
new dining room, the coolest new
artist, the next star-in-the-mak-
ing. No o ne wants to be the 35th person to tell
their friends about the new hotspot on U
Street or the thought-provoking exhibition in
Adams Morgan — they want to be first.
And the easiest way to get ahead is to
follow the people at the very front of the
curve. We asked the people behind some of
our favorite local cocktails, theater and
radio to predict the trends that will sweep
the c ity in 2020 and beyond.
It s eems that we have a lot to look forward to.
[email protected]
Lauren Paylor
Silver Lyan at t he RiggsLauren Paylor, 27, is one of the area’s
most engaging and creative bartenders.
She has served in a number of roles
around D.C., including as the head bar-
tender for Derek Brown’s pre-pop-up Sev-
enth Street NW bars (Mockingbird Hill,
Eat the Rich and Southern Efficiency) and,
most recently, as the general manager at
Petworth’s Dos Mamis, which The Wash-
ington Post named the best new bar of- She was the winner of the 2018 DC
Black Restaurant Week Cocktail competi-
tion, and a finalist in the 2019 U.S. Bar-
tenders’ Guild’s World Class National
Competition. She has now joined the team
at Silver Lyan, from award-winning Brit-
ish bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, in
the new Riggs Hotel in Penn Quarter.
I think we’re going to see a lot of
amazing bar programs in D.C. in 2020.
Ta ke Eaton and the Allegory: The display
they had in the lobby that highlights and
educates people on the history of black
bartenders in the United States — some-
thing that’s as simplistic as that has somuch value.
Sherry is making a comeback in cock-
tails. I think it’s s omething that bartenders
in general are establishing a better appre-
ciation for, and I’ve seen it pop up a lot
more t han I have in the past, w hich excites
me because I love sherry, h aving worked a t
Mockingbird Hill. I think what I’d like to
see moving forward are m ore s ober venues
and/or l ow-ABV cocktails, such as at Coco-
nut Club, Service Bar and Compass Rose.
I went a couple of months without drink-
ing, and although the options may not be
listed on their menus, they are all able to
execute d elicious and unique low-ABV and
nonalcoholic beverages.
Also, I’d like to see a little bit more
simplicity. The classic cocktails really al-
low us to establish great foundations
when we’re learning the basics. That’s
something I think can often get lost when
we’re really focused on this craft cocktail-
oriented scene that we have, but simplici-
ty goes a lot of the way as well.
[At the same time,] I think that we’ll be a
lot more careful at every step that goes into
producing a product. That can be some-
thing as simple as being a little bit more
conscious of sustainability and anti-waste,and the importance of integrating that into
our programs.
The D.C. cocktail scene is interesting, in
comparison with other markets I’ve seen.
I think that we are very conscious and
aware of, “How do you cater to the larger
audience?” T hat might just be because you
have so many tourists visiting o ur city.
I think that we have an opportunity to
really think outside the box and integrate
culinary aspects into our drinks, and real-
ly create an experience. When people go
out for food, there’s a story that accompa-
nies [each dish]. That’s something that
we’ve lost a little bit with beverages, and
it’s something that’s definitely going to
make a comeback.
In five years, I hope to be distilling
some spirit. I’m really excited for the
opportunities coming my way, and sus-
tainability and anti-waste has been some-
thing that’s been very important t o me, s o
I want to integrate that into my craft. I
hope to compete in the World Class again,
and then I hope to take those skills and
translate them to what goes into the
products that b artenders utilize.
— as told to Fritz HahnStaying
ahead of
D.C.’s buzz
Eight tastemakers explain
what’s in the city’s future
From the Cover
shannon sturgisLauren Paylor, who works at the Silver Lyan bar at the Riggs Hotel, says she hopes to see more sober venues and/or low-ABV cocktails in Washington’s bar scene.
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