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| Dick Bradsell, Bartender Who Helped Revive London Cocktail Scene, Dies at 56 | Dick Bradsell, Bartender Who Helped Revive London Cocktail Scene, Dies at 56 |
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| Dick Bradsell, a career bartender who was considered the father of the cocktail revival that took root in London in the 1990s and continues to flourish today, died on Saturday at his home in London. He was 56. | Dick Bradsell, a career bartender who was considered the father of the cocktail revival that took root in London in the 1990s and continues to flourish today, died on Saturday at his home in London. He was 56. |
| The cause was brain cancer, his daughter, Beatrice Bradsell, said. | The cause was brain cancer, his daughter, Beatrice Bradsell, said. |
| Mr. Bradsell took up the cause of mixology as a teenager in the 1970s. At the time, bartending was not considered a career for the ambitious, and British drinking habits did not extend far beyond a pint at the pub and an occasional gin and tonic. | Mr. Bradsell took up the cause of mixology as a teenager in the 1970s. At the time, bartending was not considered a career for the ambitious, and British drinking habits did not extend far beyond a pint at the pub and an occasional gin and tonic. |
| But by the turn of the century, his influence was felt not just in London but throughout Britain and as far away as Australia, thanks to bartenders who were either trained by him directly or inspired by his cocktail creations. | But by the turn of the century, his influence was felt not just in London but throughout Britain and as far away as Australia, thanks to bartenders who were either trained by him directly or inspired by his cocktail creations. |
| A number of his concoctions became modern classics around the world, in particular the bramble — a mix of gin, lemon juice, sugar and crème de mûre, with a blackberry garnish — and the vodka espresso, more commonly known as the espresso martini, made with vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh espresso. | A number of his concoctions became modern classics around the world, in particular the bramble — a mix of gin, lemon juice, sugar and crème de mûre, with a blackberry garnish — and the vodka espresso, more commonly known as the espresso martini, made with vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh espresso. |
| Mr. Bradsell first became known as a creative drink inventor at the Zanzibar, Soho Brasserie and, most notably, Fred’s Club, hip private clubs where London’s art and media elite gathered in the 1980s and ’90s. He became a bar-world celebrity in 1994, when the night life entrepreneur Oliver Peyton drafted him to be head bartender at the Atlantic Bar and Grill, a multifloor subterranean restaurant and bar in the heart of Soho. | Mr. Bradsell first became known as a creative drink inventor at the Zanzibar, Soho Brasserie and, most notably, Fred’s Club, hip private clubs where London’s art and media elite gathered in the 1980s and ’90s. He became a bar-world celebrity in 1994, when the night life entrepreneur Oliver Peyton drafted him to be head bartender at the Atlantic Bar and Grill, a multifloor subterranean restaurant and bar in the heart of Soho. |
| The Atlantic was something Londoners had not yet seen: a night spot that not only was a class apart from stuffy hotel bars and vapid discos but also kept hours far beyond those of most pubs. On the lowest level, Mr. Bradsell held court at a bar named after him. | |
| “I said, ‘If we don’t come up with a good name, I’m going to call it Dick’s,’ ” Mr. Bradsell recalled telling Mr. Peyton. | “I said, ‘If we don’t come up with a good name, I’m going to call it Dick’s,’ ” Mr. Bradsell recalled telling Mr. Peyton. |
| The name may have been an accident, but it proved a turning point for both Mr. Bradsell and British bartenders in general. “One of the seminal moments in the evolution of the London bar scene is when Ollie decided to name the bar at the Atlantic after Dick,” Ben Reed, who later became a celebrity bartender at the trendy Met Bar, said in an interview. | The name may have been an accident, but it proved a turning point for both Mr. Bradsell and British bartenders in general. “One of the seminal moments in the evolution of the London bar scene is when Ollie decided to name the bar at the Atlantic after Dick,” Ben Reed, who later became a celebrity bartender at the trendy Met Bar, said in an interview. |
| The Atlantic made Mr. Bradsell famous throughout Britain and much sought after. He stayed a mere six months. Thereafter, he kept a nomadic pattern: setting up the drink program at a new bar, training its staff, then moving on to the next job. | The Atlantic made Mr. Bradsell famous throughout Britain and much sought after. He stayed a mere six months. Thereafter, he kept a nomadic pattern: setting up the drink program at a new bar, training its staff, then moving on to the next job. |
| “Any time you find Dick at a bar, that’s the place to be,” Audrey Saunders, owner of the Manhattan cocktail bar Pegu Club, told The New York Times in 2007. | “Any time you find Dick at a bar, that’s the place to be,” Audrey Saunders, owner of the Manhattan cocktail bar Pegu Club, told The New York Times in 2007. |
| Richard Arthur Bradsell was born on May 4, 1959, in Bishop’s Stortford, England, to Peter Bradsell and the former Margaret Elma Gurney. A rebellious son, he left home in 1977 and immersed himself in London night life. | Richard Arthur Bradsell was born on May 4, 1959, in Bishop’s Stortford, England, to Peter Bradsell and the former Margaret Elma Gurney. A rebellious son, he left home in 1977 and immersed himself in London night life. |
| An uncle of his who ran the Naval and Military Club, near Piccadilly Circus, got him a job there when he was 19. He worked though every job, including bartender, making pink gins for the retired officers and developing a respect for drinking styles of the past. | An uncle of his who ran the Naval and Military Club, near Piccadilly Circus, got him a job there when he was 19. He worked though every job, including bartender, making pink gins for the retired officers and developing a respect for drinking styles of the past. |
| Mr. Bradsell, a quirky character with a clipped, querulous way of speaking, was not straight out of central casting as a bartender. In a profession dominated for decades in London by immigrants, primarily Italians, seeking to get a leg up, he was British-born and actually wanted to bartend as a career. He took his work seriously — David A. Embury’s 1946 book “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks” was his bible — and earned a following. | Mr. Bradsell, a quirky character with a clipped, querulous way of speaking, was not straight out of central casting as a bartender. In a profession dominated for decades in London by immigrants, primarily Italians, seeking to get a leg up, he was British-born and actually wanted to bartend as a career. He took his work seriously — David A. Embury’s 1946 book “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks” was his bible — and earned a following. |
| Despite his very public line of work, Mr. Bradsell disliked the limelight and in later years had an almost hermitlike reputation. His final bartending job, and one of his longest-lasting, was at the Pink Chihuahua, a nondescript bar underneath a Mexican restaurant in Soho. | Despite his very public line of work, Mr. Bradsell disliked the limelight and in later years had an almost hermitlike reputation. His final bartending job, and one of his longest-lasting, was at the Pink Chihuahua, a nondescript bar underneath a Mexican restaurant in Soho. |
| Besides his daughter, Mr. Bradsell is survived by his father; a sister, Helen Vautier; and his partner, Eline Bosman. He and his wife, Vicki Sarge, separated in 2000. | Besides his daughter, Mr. Bradsell is survived by his father; a sister, Helen Vautier; and his partner, Eline Bosman. He and his wife, Vicki Sarge, separated in 2000. |
| He could be a contrarian. He once said that of all the bars where he had worked, his favorite was the Colony Room, a famously divey den where the likes of the artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud went to slum and where shaking cocktails was discouraged. | He could be a contrarian. He once said that of all the bars where he had worked, his favorite was the Colony Room, a famously divey den where the likes of the artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud went to slum and where shaking cocktails was discouraged. |
| “The owner hating me making cocktails so much, he used to hide my equipment,” Mr. Bradsell said in an interview. When a fellow bartender arrived, he said, he improvised and used his fingers to strain his friend’s drink. | “The owner hating me making cocktails so much, he used to hide my equipment,” Mr. Bradsell said in an interview. When a fellow bartender arrived, he said, he improvised and used his fingers to strain his friend’s drink. |