Ronald Bower / San Francisco Brand Ambassador
San Francisco Brand Ambassador for The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley
Bartender, The Dead Fish Crab House & Prime Rib | Owner, HL Trading Company
Now in his fourth decade as a hospitality professional, Ronald Bower started working as a bus boy in his teens earning $20 on the side when he grabbed a keg for the bartenders. That was big money for a kid in 1985 and hooked him on becoming a bartender. He stepped behind the bar for the first time on his 21st birthday and officially began learning the craft.
Ron worked for Red Robin as a corporate bartender trainer until a local barbeque chef recruited him to add a bar to his restaurant. Ron spent the next 21 years at Back Forty Texas BBQ, working as the bar manager and beverage director as it grew from a small local restaurant to a 17,000-square-foot regional destination with two bars. At the same time he competed in many local martini shake-offs. “I won a few and lost a few but loved the craft cocktail world,” Ron says. “If only I had known about The Perfect Purée back then!”
Later in his career, Ron was recruited to open other establishments and run the beverage side of their business. He now tends bar at the Dead Fish in Crockett, California (where he’s introducing The Perfect Purée). He and his wife of 28 years, Kristin, run a small business making craft beef jerky and Almond Roca toffee. “I’m experimenting with the purées in my marinade for my future products. Thai Basil & Black Pepper is my favorite so far,” Ron says.
Ron enjoys representing The Perfect Purée in its backyard. “There is a great pride explaining the products because there’s nothing out there close to as good. When at account calls I usually chat up putting some Sweet Ginger in an espresso martini or using Cherry and Orange Zest in an old fashioned.”