Policastro, Santiago “Pichín” (1912–2010), was the dean of Argentine bartenders and the author of the 1955 Tragos mágicos, an emblematic cocktail book that advanced modern mixology. Policastro was born in Buenos Aires on September 1, 1912, a son of Italian immigrants. He started his mixology career in the 1930s and by 1935 had created the Clarito, a Dry Martini variation that became one of the most famous Argentine cocktails. He worked at prominent bars in the city, such as Chantecler and Marabú. By the early 1950s he had gained a reputation as a preeminent bartender, an owner of three bars, and the host of a radio program named Cocktail del Día (Cocktail of the day); he even appeared in a film, Vida Nocturna (Nightlife), in 1955. In 1954, with his cocktail El Pato (“The Duck”), he won the International Cocktail Tournament that was a part of Hospes, the first postwar international hospitality conference, held in in Bern, Switzerland.
On June, 15, 1955, with the support of Argentine president Juan Domingo Perón, he inaugurated a floating beverage fair that was scheduled to travel around the world with the aim of advertising Argentine products. Unfortunately, his trip was canceled three months after its start due to the fall of President Perón. In 1956, with the overthrow of Perón, Pichín fled Argentina for New York City and eventually found himself in exile in Venezuela working with longtime friends and partners at the Pampero rum company.
In addition to being a member and great benefactor of the AMBA (Asociación Mutual de Barmen y Afines de la República Argentina), he founded and sponsored bartender associations throughout Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Florida. He died on January 16, 2010, in Miami, where he lived during his last years.
“Hospes Berne 1954.” The Swiss Observer, May 28, 1954, 7388.
Policastro, Santiago. Tragos Mágicos. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Riverside, 1955.
By: Ariel Lombán