We are proud to work with some of the top venues and bartenders. Ryan Way, from Orchid, recently made it to the top 10 in the UK for Diageo’s World Class Cocktail Competition – the only entrant from Scotland to do so!
Five Minutes with… Ryan Way, of Orchid in Aberdeen
1. Favourite Rock Rose Gin and/or Holy Grass Vodka serve(s)?
The Smoked Orange edition makes a banging martini.
2. First time you encountered our spirits and why you like them?
A bar I worked in previously had Rock Rose as part of a Scottish gin flight which was quite a cool idea.
3. How long have you been working at your venue?
I am the Assistant General Manager at Orchid in Aberdeen and I started here in January 2019.
4. Who is your drinks trade hero or mentor?
There’s so many people that I look up to in the industry it would be impossible to name just one!
5. What’s your all-time favourite cocktail?
I’d have to say a Gibson. Or a Daiquiri. Or an Old Fashioned. I could go on…
6. And which piece of music would you listen to whilst sipping this drink?
I like a nice chilled RnB or Motown playlist.
7. Favourite venue (anywhere in the world) other than your own bar?
Further from home I’ve always enjoyed visits to Satan’s Whiskers and a Bar With Shapes For a Nane. Here in Aberdeen I like to hang out in Ninety Nine.
8. Fantasy cocktail hour: who with and what would you drink?
A negroni with Anthony Bourdain would be pretty cool.
9. Is sustainability important to you and, if so, how do you incorporate that interest into your work?
Sustainability for me means using more of the produce grown around you and relying less on imported produce coming from all over the world. We’re lucky to have some great local producers in Aberdeen and the shire and so putting that at the forefront of cocktail creation is important to me.
