| Dick Bradsell | |
| Birth Name: | Richard Arthur Bradsell |
| Birth Date: | 4 May 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Bishop's Stortford, England |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Occupation: | Bartender, writer |
| Known For: | His innovative work with cocktails |
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. 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.[13]