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Lidiyanah “Yana” K.
Beverage director, Atlas
When Lidiyanah “Yana” K. joined Atlas at its launch seven years ago, she was a barista at the stylish art deco cocktail bar. Her ability to connect with the patrons saw her rise through the ranks to head bartender. Today she is the award-winning establishment’s new beverage director, managing the team of bartenders, designing the seasonal menus and running the members-only Juniper Society for gin aficionados.
For Yana, bartending is a holistic craft that requires technical skill, prowess and a personal touch. Although she’s busy ensuring that Atlas keeps its spot in the upper echelons of the world’s best bar rankings, she never lost the essential knack for making a mean martini. “What I love most about my craft is my ability to change someone’s day,” she says. “We can change a person’s mood with a simple conversation or by making a great drink.”
Yana enjoys delighting her guests via the bar’s imaginative cocktail list. The current menu is titled “The Preservation of Fire”, a reference to the composer Gustav Mahler. It highlights the scientific side of cocktails, like the Electric Club’s clarified butter and milk punch. “I love to read about what other bartenders are doing and see how I can be creative in how I experiment with techniques,” says Yana.
Just as important is perfecting the performance. “For guests, the best part of sitting at a bar is the showmanship,” she says. “I make sure that all the bartenders can make a cocktail in front of the guests. It empowers them and gives them that feeling of pride behind the bar.”
Head to Atlas to sample one of Yana’s stellar cocktails and admire the beautiful architecture on the ground floor of Parkview Square at 600 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188778.
atlasbar.sg
