Interview with Boston Rising Star Bartender Ran Duan of Baldwin Bar

Caroline Hatchett: How did The Baldwin Bar come about?
Ran Duan: The bar came out of necessity. After graduating from Johnson and Wales in 2009, I moved back home to help my parents out and at the time the economic downturn just happened. So, I took over the bar here, and in the beginning it was super tacky, typical Chinese food cocktail drinks. Slowly it evolved into this. We hired Joel two years ago; Van one and a half years ago; and Charles five months ago. We’ve been super lucky and blessed. This is a mom and pop restaurant, and for us to grow like this—we’ve been really fortunate.

CH: Can you tell me a little about this space, Sichuan Garden II?
RD: The house was built in 1661. My parents took over and opened the restaurant 12 years ago. I took over the bar five years ago. We’ve been pretty successful, so we want to expand upstairs; it’s currently a ballroom that holds 80 to 90 people. When we’re done, we’ll have about 40 seats. We’re planning on each bartender having their own menu for their own section of the restaurant. A lot of people from out of town and in Boston come out here. The cocktail menu changes every three weeks, based on season and what we feel like making. It reflects what we want to drink at the time. The four of us will collaborate, and I think people will really dig it. We like to keep one classic on each menu and run with the rest.

We do 40 to 50 reservations on weekends. We try to let walk-ins in as much as possible. Sometimes we’ll seat them in the dining room, where they have access to the entire menu, but it’s definitely a different vibe. A waitress will come in and say that a customer wants something like this and this and we’ll work with them to come up with something for them. The interaction is the best part; you’re really putting on a show. Every now and then we’ll get locals looking for a regular local bar and we have to get them acquainted with what we’re doing. We’ve worked very hard to make everyone feel like they’re welcome.

CH: How are you involved in the local culinary community?
RD: I’m an avid competitor. We don’t have big budgets here, so every competition I win is great exposure for us. I did the Bombay Sapphire [Imaginative Bartender competition] and have two coming up. The Unites States Bartenders’ Guild, were avid members, we always go to meetings. 

CH: What's your five-year plan?
RD: I have a few projects in mind, a couple projects. I’m definitely looking to expand. One of our goals here is to pair our food with the cocktails. I was having oxtail and tripe with mezcal and it was fantastic. So I thought, "How can I work this into our program?"

CH: How do you describe your mixing philosophy?
RD: Our mantra here is the first ingredient in a great cocktail is hospitality.