Silver Lyan

Silver Lyan Silver Lyan – nestled in the lower level of Riggs Washington DC, in the bank building’s former vault – is the first bar outside of Europe from Mr Lyan.

Operation Mindf*ck — an end-of-evening sipper inspired by one of history’s most successful practical jokes gone wrong.Sc...
06/12/2026

Operation Mindf*ck — an end-of-evening sipper inspired by one of history’s most successful practical jokes gone wrong.

Science fiction writer Kerry Thornley and Pl***oy editor Robert Wilson never intended to revive conspiracy theories about the Bavarian Illuminati when they started joking about them, but that’s what happened!

Already under suspicion for involvement in JFK’s assassination, Thornley used his notoriety for culture jamming. Together, he and Wilson blamed everything on the Illuminati, hoping to encourage people to question what they read in the media. Unfortunately, some people thought they were serious.

Here, we take cues from a Vieux Carré, with woolly calvados fat-washed with lanolin as a nod to the “sheeple” often referenced in conspiracy circles.

Mesquite-smoked carrot vermouth references Texas BBQ and the Kennedy assassination, while garden peas nod to Sherlock Holmes and another famous (possibly apocryphal) practical joke.

Secret bitters complete the story — and much like a good conspiracy, no matter how much guests ask, we won’t reveal what’s in them!

Ocho reposado, woolly calvados, mesquite carrot vermouth, garden peas, secret bitters.

05/20/2026

Our Season’s Sazerac is five years in the making — literally.

Our cognac (used 3:1 alongside rye) has been solera-infused with fruits, vegetables, and seasonal produce every week or so since we opened, so it’s ever-evolving, says Eric.

When Britt Fox, one of our former bartenders, got married in an apple orchard, we took apples from that orchard and added them to the solera. Now, every Sazerac we serve — indefinitely — carries a whisper of those apples.

When we collaborated with Library Bar in Toronto, they introduced us to candy cap mushrooms. Because the solera is layering what’s new while preserving what came before — those mushrooms will also remain part of every Sazerac we serve here, and that’s pretty special!

Solera fruit Pierre Ferrand cognac, Michter’s rye, Peychaud’s, white absinthe.

Season’s Sazerac — a Silver Lyan take on the Sazerac that embraces alcohol’s ability to preserve the flavours of peak se...
05/15/2026

Season’s Sazerac — a Silver Lyan take on the Sazerac that embraces alcohol’s ability to preserve the flavours of peak seasonal fruits with an evolving solera of infusions!

Using a base combo of rye and cognac offers a brighter take on the classic, while the absinthe-scented Flavor Blaster bubble allows the flavour of the absinthe to leech more slowly into the drink.

The fruits and vegetables (whatever’s in season!) are prepared individually depending on what form of their flavour is most desirable — roasted, frozen, dehydrated, etc — and using a solera lets us keep adding layers of flavour as the seasons change, while always having a background whisper of what came before.

Solera fruit Pierre Ferrand cognac, Michter’s rye, Peychaud’s, white absinthe.

🪩 Join Team Silver!We’re looking for a full-time bartender who loves delicious things, is curious about tasty ingredient...
05/13/2026

🪩 Join Team Silver!

We’re looking for a full-time bartender who loves delicious things, is curious about tasty ingredients, always puts guests front and centre, and is as comfortable on the floor as they are behind the bar.

Good stuff includes:

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
6 complimentary nights a year at any Lore Group hotel
Employee & Friends & Fam Rates
50% Employee discount at over 800 partner hotels, plus restaurants and bars
401K with 5% Match
Training and Development Programs

AND MORE! Email [email protected] to apply.

💙 Lyan Love.

🪸The Mighty O — a bright, coastal whisky sour inspired by the ways in which human conflict can create space for the natu...
05/08/2026

🪸The Mighty O — a bright, coastal whisky sour inspired by the ways in which human conflict can create space for the natural world.

At a time when coral reefs are endangered worldwide, an unexpected boon for marine life has been sunken warships. They’re so effective as habitats for growth, that the U.S. Navy now sinks them to create artificial reefs!

This pattern of the aftereffects of human conflict creating space for the natural world isn’t just limited to the ocean; the DMZ between North and South Korea has become one of the most biodiverse places on the peninsula, and is now a home for many endangered species of deer and herons.

How do we translate this into a drink?! Miyeok-muchim, a Korean seaweed salad, nods to the DMZ. Antler pulls from the fact that both the Korean DMZ and Chernobyl have become havens for deer in the absence of humans, and persimmon is one of the most popular fruits in Korea, and is found in many forms in Korean cooking.

Monkey Shoulder, miyeok mukchim cordial, turbo persimmon, lemon, antler — deep dive coming next!

05/05/2026

Project Manhattan has been with us since before we even opened! It was one of the first drinks we ever served at our very first event under the Silver Lyan name, and it’s stuck around ever since, because it’s a banger, says Alex.

It’s a fantastic Manhattan, built on a split base of American single malt whiskey and a lovely high-proof American apple brandy, rounded out with sweet vermouth and just a touch of blackcurrant liqueur — then we microwave the whole thing.

It gives us a kind of fake harmonising process — a little like ageing — but we can do it in five minutes instead of a couple of months.

It hits all the notes you want a Manhattan to hit, just from a slightly different direction than normal — a Silver signature, for good reason!

Westland whisky, Laird’s applejack, vermouths, blackcurrant: Nuked.

04/24/2026

Hokusai Snap — Fords Gin, starfruit fino, bleu curacao, fuji apple, damson plum EDV.

In this spirit-forward and bright sipper, Starfruit fino, explains Clint, nods to Starry Night, used alongside bleu curacao, made by taking blue cheese, blending it into cream, and fat-washing it for savoury depth.

Damson plum eau-de-vie, made by our very talented friends at Capreolus, echoes that Prussian Blue colour, while our garnish of fresh and pickled blueberries ties everything back to our colour theme, and the happy lab accidents that changed the world.

It’s super funky, lightly fruity, served like a Martini — savoury and mineral-driven.

04/21/2026

Hokusai Snap!

In this spirit-forward and bright sipper, we’re paying tribute to a bunch of lab accidents that ended up changing the world — both in art and in medicine.

When Prussian Blue was accidentally discovered in Germany, it became the first synthetic blue pigment, making the colour far more accessible to artists. It eventually made its way to Japan, where Hokusai used it in his Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series — including The Great Wave off Kanagawa, still one of the most reproduced artworks in the world.

And then on the scientific side, you have penicillin — discovered through mould — which completely transformed medicine!

The knock-on effects of cultural expression (even when accidental!) often take unexpected turns, inspiring us to new creative heights and the occasional life-saving invention.

Fords Gin, starfruit fino, bleu curacao, fuji apple, damson plum EDV.

🌸 Festival of Friendship — the finale!We have so enjoyed spending the past month decked out in pink, celebrating one of ...
04/17/2026

🌸 Festival of Friendship — the finale!

We have so enjoyed spending the past month decked out in pink, celebrating one of our favourite times of year! Huge thanks to the pals who’ve come down to visit — many of whom attend our cherry blossom pop-ups every year — and massive Lyan love to the incredible local bars who helped to bring this collab to life, y’all are the best!

This is your last chance to enjoy our limited edition drinks and snacks, before we return to normal service next week. Stop in for Bar Betsie’s Cuatrifolio paired with a Buffalo Chicken Patty Melt, Barmini’s Matcha Tiramisu with a Black Truffle Grilled Cheese, Moon Rabbit’s Spring Euphoria with Madeleines & Five-Spice Pate, Your Only Friend’s Whiskey & Cola with Swedish Pintxo — and more.

We can’t wait to welcome you.

Hokusai Snap — Fords Gin, starfruit fino, bleu (not a typo!) curacao, fuji apple, damson plum EDVThis spirit-forward ape...
04/15/2026

Hokusai Snap — Fords Gin, starfruit fino, bleu (not a typo!) curacao, fuji apple, damson plum EDV

This spirit-forward aperitif plays on a mix of funky and fruity flavours inspired by how lab accidents have created the modern world in more ways than one.

In 1704, Johann Jacob Diesbach accidentally created a pigment that would be named Prussian Blue, marking the first affordable blue dye. Europe went crazy for the new colour, and 100 years later when it finally reached Japan, woodblock master Hokusai used it in his “Great Wave of Kanagawa” – today the world’s most-replicated artwork.

Inspired by Hokusai, 58 years later Van Gogh would use Prussian Blue as the basis for “Starry Night,” cementing the pigment in the artistic canon. On a related note, a similar lab accident resulted in the birth of the first antibiotic, when chemist Alexander Fleming’s notoriously lax cleaning habits led to his discovery of Penicillin.

As always, we nod to these stories with our ingredients, which we’ll be diving into in a two-part video series, coming next!

Address

900 F Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20004

Opening Hours

Tuesday 4pm - 12am
Wednesday 4pm - 12am
Thursday 4pm - 12am
Friday 4pm - 12am
Saturday 4pm - 12am

Telephone

+12027882799

Website

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