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. The Observer described him as the "cocktail king",Mover and shaker at The Observer/The Guardian, by Michael Jackson , 9 July 2000 (retrieved 14 December 2010) while Waitrose Food Illustrated compared him to celebrity chefs"Mover and Shaker", by Jonathan Goodall, from Waitrose Food Illustrated, January 1999, archived at Waitrose.com (retrieved 14 December 2010) and the San Francisco Chronicle credited him with "single-handedly (changing) the face of the London cocktails scene in the 1980s."Here's to the genius who created the Treacle by Gary Regan, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 August 2010 (retrieved 14 December 2010)
Bradsell was born in Bishop's Stortford, England. As a teenager, he was a friend of David Steele of the Beat. A poem of Bradsell's was adapted by singer Dave Wakeling into the lyrics of "Twist & Crawl" which appears on the Beat's debut studio album I Just Can't Stop It (1980), and for which Bradsell received a writing credit. In 1998, he played the role of The Bald Guy in Christopher Nolan's directorial debut film Following.
Bradsell was acclaimed for inventing several new cocktails, including the espresso martini, the Bramble, the Treacle, the Carol Channing, the Russian Spring Punch and the Wibble. It was reported that Bradsell could "rarely enter a bar without an enthusiastic bartender thrusting his version of the (Espresso Martini) drink at him."This quote is from Difford's Guide for Discerning Drinkers 2013, Top 100 Cocktails (link) , published in April 2013, accessed 15 October 2014. 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.
Bradsell died from brain cancer on 27 February 2016 at his home in London.Dick Bradsell, by Simon Difford, at Difford's Guide for Discerning Drinkers; retrieved 1 March 2016
References
External links Interview with Dick Bradsell List of London's best barmen, featuring Dick Bradsell as a 'Taste maker' George Sinclair's Tribute Page Dick Bradsell and his Bramble Cocktail
Theme articles archived on Scribd Grumpy Old-Fashioned Men Creativity Versus Authenticity Dick Goes on the Defensive Beware Wreckless Abandonment Careering Through the Industry Credit Where It's Due Russian Spring Punch