11/18/2023 0 Comments Crazy sexy bartenderSummer Experiment’s menu still features the cocktail that won him World Class. Gradually, Thép’s interest in incorporating local ingredients into his cocktails grew. “I really owe so much to Jay Moir – co-founder of Layla and Summer Experiment,” he says. I got to see the bartenders in action close up, and that’s when I felt like this job was meant for me,” he recalls.Ī relative newcomer to the industry, Thép got his start as a bartender at Layla in 2016 – the first spot opened by the team behind Summer Experiment. “I started out as a waiter and then one day the bar I was working at was short-staffed, so the manager told me to wash glasses at the bar. Like his partner, the Diageo World Class Vietnam 2019 winner’s entry into the industry wasn’t something he planned. Thép had already left Summer Experiment by the time it became Vietnam’s highest entry on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 51-100 list at #77 to join Lâm Đức Anh in opening Stir. Thép Đinh at Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail He even met his co-founder, Thép Đinh, at one. “I feel that an industry can only grow through the support of every single person in it.” Today, he says there are more guest shifts and training courses hosted by experienced bartenders than ever before. “It was probably only in the last three or four years that bartenders really started giving back to the community,” he says. Lâm Đức Anh thinks the growing bond in the bartender community is another important driver behind the development of the scene here. “I think what I loved was getting to meet such a diverse group of customers, and I enjoyed seeing their appreciative reaction when I made them a cocktail.” Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail’s co-founder Lâm Đức Anh Needing to help make ends meet, he hopped between jobs before settling on bartending. He was studying to be an English teacher when his family ran into financial difficulties. He agrees he also owes his career and success so far to a lot of “fate or maybe destiny”. “I guess opening a bar is the same as a chef opening a restaurant – you know what your customer needs,” he says. He’s now opened Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail as his first independent venture. Lâm Đức Anh entered the business not long after Dat, and worked at Chill Sky Bar, Qui Lounge and Sorae. “I think we’ve all felt that opening a bar was the next natural stage in our careers,” Dat explains, “and there’s still lots of space in the market here for new concepts.” “It was a pure kind of Japanese cocktail bar where I was able to encounter spirits and techniques that I could only otherwise see on the internet.” After Monde Bar closed down, he moved to Rabbit Hole – a hip Alice in Wonderland-themed speakeasy in a basement – as bar manager, before opening Yugen Bar. “That bar still has a very strong influence on what I do,” Dat muses. Dat was one of them, discovering his passion for bartending at Monde Bar. Most of the bartenders in Vietnam drifted into the profession and then fell in love. Plus, the bar industry didn’t hold much appeal for young graduates. Ten years ago, there wasn’t really anywhere to get a good cocktail other than hotel bars like 2 Lam Son at the Park Hyatt Saigon. ![]() The one thing he shares with the other bartenders is a fateful entry into the profession. “I’d recommend you a classic Martini when you come to Yugen,” he advises predictably. Yugen Bar is something of an outlier, due to Dat’s interest in perfecting classic cocktails rather than exploring nostalgic local flavours. Dat Nguyen at Yugen Barĭat opened Yugen, his stylish speakeasy, located in one of HCMC’s endless alleys in December 2019. “Actually, the idea for Yugen Bar did come to me while having coffee with friends,” Dat Nguyen smiles. ![]() Maybe we have Vietnamese coffee culture to thank for it, for lots of great ideas happen streetside over a glass of cà phê sữa đá. ![]() ![]() Local bartenders have been opening their own independent spots from Hanoi to HCMC over the last couple of years. He’s remembering the time he announced to his friends that he wanted to return to his hometown of Nha Trang to open a bar just as cocktail culture was exploding in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – where he was based at the time. “They said I was f*cking crazy,” Lãm Dương laughs. It’s not known for its cocktail bars, but Hybrid, opened by Lãm Dương at the end of 2019, was listed #96 in the 51-100 list by Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021. The coastal city of Nha Trang in Vietnam – with a population of less than 400,000 people – is popular with domestic travellers and before the pandemic, was frequented by international travellers. Vietnam-based journalist David Kaye gives a who’s who in the new wave of Vietnamese bar stars. Vietnamese bartenders are going out on their own and developing cocktail culture all over the country.
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