Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
THE SO-CAL BEAT Tapping Out ERICK CASTRO RUNS A UNIQUE COCKTAIL PROGRAM AT POLITE PROVISIONS by Rich Manning / photos by Leigh Castelli E rick Castro knows a good thing when he sees one. Certainly, that would explain why the mixologist came back to his old college stomping grounds of San Diego after several years of cultivating rock star status in San Francisco. "It just seemed like every time I'd come to San Diego to visit friends, there was something new and exciting going on," explains the spirits-world superstar. "Eventually, I just had to move down here." Once he arrived, Castro's impeccable eye for talent led him to hook up with Nate Stanton and Arsalun Tafazoli, the celebrated duo behind Consortium Holdings, the social and culinary collective that's embarked on a crusade to create and escalate the city's food and drink culture. When Castro settled in behind the bar as a partner and GM at the group's sleek watering hole Polite Provisions—an apothecary-esque spot that touts itself as being "Manufacturers of Local Tonics, Elixirs and Cures"—the three men were jointly inspired to create the bar's Cocktail on Tap system. The program is as the name implies: mixed drinks that are dispensed through a pristine row of shiny valves. Yet Polite Provision's system is far Manning the taps at Polite Provisions: Erick Castro (front), partner/GM; Nate Stanton and Arsalun Tafazoli, owners. 110 / the tasting panel / june 2013 TP0613_080-119.indd 110 5/23/13 5:31 PM