Richard Arthur Bradsell (4 May 1959 – 27 February 2016) was a British

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

noted for his innovative work with

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

s, including the creation of many new drinks now considered to be modern classics. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' described him as the "cocktail king", while ''

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

Food Illustrated'' compared him to

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

s and the ''

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'' credited him with "single-handedly (changing) the face of the London cocktails scene in the 1980s." Bradsell was born in Bishop's Stortford, England. He was acclaimed for inventing several new cocktails, including the

Espresso Martini The espresso martini is a cold caffeinated alcoholic drink made with espresso, coffee liqueur, and vodka. It is not a true martini as it contains neither gin nor vermouth, but is one of many drinks that incorporate the term ''martini'' into th ...

, the

Bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

, 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 Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California ...

co-wrote several articles for the now-defunct bartending magazine ''Theme''. 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 BradsellList of London's best barmen, featuring Dick Bradsell as a 'Taste maker'George Sinclair's Tribute PageDick Bradsell and his Bramble Cocktail

''Theme'' articles archived on Scribd

Grumpy Old-Fashioned MenCreativity Versus AuthenticityDick Goes on the DefensiveBeware Wreckless AbandonmentCareering Through the IndustryCredit Where It's DueRussian Spring Punch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradsell, Dick Bartenders People from Bishop's Stortford 1959 births 2016 deaths Deaths from brain cancer in England