Bartender
Erick Castro
- Discipline
- Bartender
- Based in
- San Diego, California, United States
i. Biography
Journalism training can sharpen a bartender’s work with structure, audience, and narrative without turning the drink into a lecture. Erick Castro’s background at San Diego State University’s School of Journalism later carried into Bartender at Large, where the trade is handled through interviews, context, and working-bar language. His bar record runs through San Francisco service, San Diego ownership, New York collaboration, and cocktail education by way of broadcast. “I wanted to keep a casual environment but still over-deliver with the cocktails.” Erick has said.
Coming Up
Cocktail development in San Francisco gave Erick Castro a working base in volume, detail, and guest-facing discipline through bartender roles at Rickhouse and Bourbon & Branch. The move into ownership began with Polite Provisions in 2013, followed by Boilermaker in 2014 and Raised by Wolves, each placing classic cocktail literacy inside highly designed bar rooms. Bartender at Large extends that same trade focus into conversation, using media as another service channel for bartenders and operators.
The Practice Today
Recipe refinement remains central to the work, with Erick Castro continuing to develop a better Piña Colada. The focus is not novelty for its own sake, but the bar problem every working bartender recognizes: making a familiar drink more precise, more consistent, and better suited to the room serving it.
Career - Co-Founder — Polite Provisions, San Diego, CA (2013–present) - Co-Founder — Boilermaker, New York, NY (2014–present) - Co-Founder — Raised by Wolves, San Diego, CA - Host — Bartender at Large - Bartender — Rickhouse, San Francisco, CA - Bartender — Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco, CA Education: San Diego State University’s School of Journalism; San Diego State
Signature
Signature cocktails include Kentucky Buck, Piña Verde, and Ken Burns Effect.
Recognition
Industry recognition around Erick Castro’s work spans bar programs, high-volume execution, individual bartending, and early-career mixology. Honors include Cocktail Bar of the Year (2019), Outstanding Bar Program (2016), Best High Volume Cocktail Bar (2014), Cocktail Bar of The Year (2014), Best Bartenders in America (2014), and Rising Star Mixologist (2010).
FAQ What is Erick Castro's current role? Erick Castro is bartender-owner of Polite Provisions. Where did Erick Castro train or study? Erick Castro trained at San Diego State University’s School of Journalism and San Diego State. What recognition has Erick Castro received? Cocktail Bar of the Year (2019).
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