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Here's to the genius who created the

Treacle.August 15, 2010 By Gary Regan.

 Not many people in the U.S.A. have heard of Dick Bradsell. Come to think of it, not many folksin the United Kingdom, his homeland, know who he is, either. But, if you're the least bit geeky when it comes to the world of cocktails, you might just know that

Dick Bradsell is the man who single-handedly changed the face of the cocktail scene in Londonin the 1980s. He's trained many of today's top London bartenders, and he's still hard at workbehind the stick. I've known Dick for only a few years, and whenever I've been around him he's lived up to his

reputation for being quirky, strange, lovable and a bit of a curmudgeon. I've been privileged tosee his gargoyle imitation late one night at a private party, and I've been lucky enough to havesipped cocktails made by the man, too. When I first met Mr. Bradsell he was working at the Colony Room Club, a pretty exclusive artsy

 joint that was opened by Muriel Belcher in the 1940s, and was frequented by luminaries suchas Francis Bacon, the Anglo-Irish painter whose portrait of Belcher sold in Paris for a whopping13.7 million euros in 2007. Princess Margaret and Dylan Thomas also had occasion to visit the Colony Room Club, andBritish model Kate Moss did a stint behind the bar there, I'm told. Sadly, the club closed after 

losing its lease in 2008. When it comes to cocktails, the Bramble, a mixture of gin, lemon juice, creme de mure - ablackberry liqueur - and simple syrup is probably Dick's most famous drink. The key to itssuccess lies in its simplicity, Dick doesn't tend toward complicated ingredients. He relies more

on matching flavors and balancing them well. I visited Dick in London earlier this year. He's now holding forth from behind the bar at ElCamino, a Mexican restaurant in Soho, and although many of the customers there don't have aclue who is making their drinks, those in the know head to this place specifically to have a drink

made by Britain's cocktail guru. 

El Camino is a Mexican place, so I thought that tequila was in order. I asked Dick to make me atequila-based Negroni when I first walked into his bar. It worked quite well. When it came timefor the second round, though, a friend of mine more or less insisted that I try a Treacle, another of Dick's creations.

 Like the Bramble, the Treacle is a simple affair, but drinks don't get much better than this - andI mean those words with all the strength I can give them. It's not much more than a rum-basedOld-Fashioned with a float of apple juice, but these are simple twists that lead to greatness in a

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well-thought-out drink. Myers's dark rum works well in the Treacle. As for the apple juice, keep in mind that this is theingredient that brings the whole drink together in harmony, so look for some freshly pressedorganic juice, or at least something that hasn't been overly processed.

 

As I noted above, Dick Bradsell is a man who lives up to his reputation. He's quirky, strange,lovable and a bit of a curmudgeon, too. After sipping his Treacle, though, I'm going toadd "genius" to that list.

Treacle

Makes 1 drink

Adapted from a recipe by Dick Bradsell, El Camino, London.● 2 ounces dark rum● 1/2 ounce simple syrup● 2 dashes Angostura bitters● 1/2 ounce apple juice

 Instructions: Stir the rum, simple syrup and bitters together in an ice-filled old-fashioned glassfor at least 20 seconds. Float the apple juice on top of the drink. Gary Regan is the author of "The Joy of Mixology" and other books. E-mail him at

wine@sfchronicle.com. (C) San Francisco Chronicle 2010