Dick Bradsell – what a legend.
There are many great cocktail barmen & women and mixologists out there of course. Like anyone at the top of their game or the top of their profession, these are people who inspire those around them and inspire us customers too.
Creating new cocktails & mixology
Creating new cocktails, as I’ve written elsewhere, is one of the most fun bits of mixology. The constant drive to create a great, new cocktail. Interesting flavour combinations in well balanced cocktails that will get approving comments from your guests. Over the years, I have developed many new cocktails and some of these have been offered out to guests at parties. And it’s great of course when the guests comment that a particular cocktail of yours is their favourite one when it’s competing toe to toe with some of the great classics such as the Cosmopolitan and the Mojito. The downside of course though, is that many of these will never find a wide audience. I can introduce them to guests of mine but the wider cocktail sipping public is denied the pleasure!
Dick Bradsell
Some bartenders, who have a profile and work in some of the famous bars around the world have a fantastic platform to introduce us to new cocktails. Some of them are skilled and fortunate enough to have their creations regarded as classics. To produce 1 of these well regarded classics is awesome. To produce 2 is simply incredible. Let me introduce you to Dick Bradsell. Sadly no longer with us, he died at the age of just 56 in 2016.
The world’s most popular cocktails
The magazine Drinks International produces an annual report with details of the league table of cocktails ranked by their popularity in the top bars around the world. Dick Bradsell gave us 2 of the existing most popular 50 cocktails in the world’s best bars. In fact it’s better than this he gave us 2 classic cocktails both in the Top 40 – one of which is in the top 5. What you really want to know is which two cocktails.
The Bramble
The Bramble is a very English type of cocktail. It’s made with just a few ingredients and is served as a short spirit-forward drink. As well as the ice in the tumbler glass, ideally crushed, you use sugar syrup and lemon juice. The base of the drink is gin and then once you’ve stirred the mixture in your glass, you float a measure of creme de mure blackberry liqueur on the top. I’m not quite sure why this drink works in the way that it does but from the first time I tried one, it became one of my favourite cocktails. The cocktail is greater than the sum of it’s parts somehow.
Espresso Martini
Then we have the juggernaut of success which is the Espresso Martini. Can you believe that Dick Bradsell invented the Espresso Martini as well as the Bramble? Both very different drinks using different base spirits so it’s not even as if one cocktail is a riff of the other. He originally called the drink the vodka espresso and he worked at the Soho brasserie on Old Compton Street in London. The story goes that a customer walked in and asked for a cocktail that would “wake me up, then fuck me up.” Bradsell came up with the vodka espresso to meet the demand. He combined vodka, fresh espresso coffee, coffee liqueur and sugar syrup and shook them with ice in a shaker to create the rich foam top that we associate with the Espresso Martini. This gives it its distinctive look and is generally served in a coupe glass. It is now a top seller around the world.
A cocktail legacy
What a fantastic legacy to leave the world of mixology. For me it’s back to the drawing board and continuing to work with new flavour combinations to develop the next great cocktail. Why not try some of my creations for yourself. The Sandbar was one I created for a client for their 50th birthday party. I was told that they liked “anything with Malibu.” Having reflected on the fact that there aren’t any classic cocktails with Malibu, I decided to create one. Based around the flavour profile of the classic Pina Colada, the Sandbar contains golden rum, Malibu and pineapple juice. A great flavour profile. A classic combination. Not as thick and creamy as a Pina Colada of course, but easier and quicker to make. Which for us working at parties – makes a whole difference.
Alternatively, why not try a Strawberry Martini? A lovely drink for summer. You do need a bottle of Chamberyzette for this one. Available online and a distinct and delicate strawberry vermouth it combines well with gin and raspberry syrup. Try the recipe for the Strawberry Martini here. Ironically, I originally used raspberry syrup as I didn’t have any strawberry syrup. Then when I bought some strawberry syrup and added it to the drink, I felt that the raspberry was better. Cheers.