Australian bartenders have awoken to news on social media that UK bartender Dick Bradsell, creator of the Bramble, the Espresso Martini, and more modern classic drinks, has died.
The influence of Bradsell on the modern era of bartending is hard to overstate, having trained countless London bartenders from the 1980’s and 1990’s, up to the current day. It was at his most recent post, at El Camion in Soho, that Lee Potter Cavanagh, the 2015 Bartender of the Year, recalled in a tribute on Facebook this morning.
“Getting taken care of at El Camion by the man and his team after work in Soho will stick with me through my life,” he wrote.
“Even at his age he was banging out drinks on dispense on a busy night and keeping the bar rocking. He’d politely ignore the fanboy bartenders who wanted to talk shop but if you wanted to jump behind the bar or truly show respect with a shot of Tequila he was very accommodating. The rest of the crew knew how to keep the place jumping and keep the place just enough in line that it was a lot of fun, even if some of my friends pushed those boundaries!”
Australian Bartender magazine publisher David Spanton said that the few people have had the effect on the global bar industry that Bradsell has.
“I must admit like many people I never got to meet Dick in person, but I feel I somehow knew him considering how much we talked about his influence and drinks at Bartender magazine over the past 18 years,” Spanton said.
“There are very few other people today that that have had the influence on the world wide bartender community than Dick and many of todays leading bar personalities owe a great deal of debt to this man who will be forever remembered as a giant of the bartender world,” he said.
The global bar industry reacted to the news on social media this morning, with noteworthy industry figures like Gaz Regan, Angus Winchester, David Wondrich and more taking to Twitter to pay tribute.
Take a look at their tributes below.
I unconditionally admire(d) very few people in our industry but Dick Bradsell was 1 of them. A bartenders Bartender. pic.twitter.com/oJNV7Fnzmx
— anguswinchester (@anguswinchester) February 28, 2016
Farewell Dick Bradsell. It was a privilege to have known you. pic.twitter.com/ad4XjJyJe1
— gary regan (@gazregan) February 28, 2016
Very sorry to hear of the loss of Dick Bradsell. Whoever's reading this is in part reading it because of him. Vale atque in perpetuum frater
— David Wondrich (@DavidWondrich) February 28, 2016
A sad day friend, inspiration and founding father of the modern bar scene Dick Bradsell RIP you will be sadly missed my friend #dickbradsell
— Salvatore Calabrese (@CocktailMaestro) February 28, 2016
#DickBradsell has died. One-man impetus of London's cocktail revival. Inventor of Bramble, Vodka Espresso, many more. Mentor to 100s.
— Robert O. Simonson (@RobertOSimonson) February 28, 2016