Richard Arthur Bradsell (4 May 1959 – 27 February 2016) was a British barman noted for his innovative work with cocktails, including the creation of many new drinks now considered to be modern classics.[1]The Observer described him as the "cocktail king",[2] while Waitrose Food Illustrated compared him to celebrity chefs[3] and the San Francisco Chronicle credited him with "single-handedly (changing) the face of the London cocktails scene in the 1980s."[4]
Bradsell was born in Bishop's Stortford, England.[1] As a teenager, he was a friend of David Steele of The Beat.[5] A poem of Bradsell's was adapted by singer Dave Wakeling into the lyrics of Twist and Crawl which appears on the Beat's 1980 debut album I Just Can't Stop It, and for which Bradsell received a writing credit.[6]
Bradsell was acclaimed for inventing several new cocktails, including the Espresso Martini,[7] the Bramble,[8] the Treacle,[9] the Carol Channing, the Russian Spring Punch and the Wibble.[10] It was reported that Bradsell could "rarely enter a bar without an enthusiastic bartender thrusting his version of the (Espresso Martini) drink at him."[11]
In 2003, he and Tony Conigliaro co-wrote several articles for the now-defunct bartending magazine Theme.
In 1998 Bradsell Married London jewellery designer Vicki Sarge. They divorced in 2000.[12]
Bradsell died from brain cancer on 27 February 2016 at his home in London.[1][13]
^ abc"Dick Bradsell, Bartender Who Helped Revive London Cocktail Scene, Dies at 56". The New York Times. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
^Mover and shaker at The Observer/The Guardian, by Michael Jackson , 9 July 2000 (retrieved 14 December 2010)
^"Mover and Shaker", by Jonathan Goodall, from Waitrose Food Illustrated, January 1999, archived at Waitrose.com Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 14 December 2010)
^Here's to the genius who created the Treacle by Gary Regan, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 August 2010 (retrieved 14 December 2010)
^"Dave Wakeling". Twitter. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
^"The Beat (2) – I Just Can't Stop It". Discogs. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
^Cecchini, Toby (16 June 2010). "Case Study: The Bramble". The New York Times.
^Regan, Gaz. "The Cocktailian:Treacle". Imbibe UK.
^Parkin, Sophie (25 March 2016). "Dick Bradsell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
^This quote is from Difford's Guide for Discerning Drinkers 2013, Top 100 Cocktails (link) Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, published in April 2013, accessed 15 October 2014.
^Parkin, Sophie (25 March 2016). "Dick Bradsell Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
^Dick Bradsell, by Simon Difford, at Difford's Guide for Discerning Drinkers; retrieved 1 March 2016
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