Iowa native Jared Boller was introduced to bartending in 2004 while studying abroad in Costa Rica. Drawn to the beach bum lifestyle of Central America, Boller found his love within the hospitality industry, as he met new people and practiced his Spanish while slinging drinks along the coast. Finding passion in travel as well as bartending, Boller graduated from the University of Iowa in 2005 and began working fulltime in both front and back of house positions in a premiere Iowa City restaurant to support his travel habit. After traveling through Asia, with stops in Nepal and Thailand along the way, Boller landed in Vail, Colorado where he began to seriously hone his signature improvisational style behind the bar.
In the spring of 2007, Boller made the move to Denver where he began creating seasonal cocktail menus for Ocean and Nine75, where he met then-Executive Chef Troy Guard, whose own love of inventive, whimsical and seasonally inspired food matched perfectly with Boller’s fresh-faced improvisational style. When Guard decided to open his own restaurant, TAG, in downtown Denver, Boller joined him and created award-winning handcrafted cocktails inspired by Guard’s continental cuisine.
Ever the constant traveler, Boller packed his bags and made the move to New York City in the summer of 2010 to further develop and hone his craft. In less than two months, Boller helped open the much anticipated Lani Kai — Julie Reiner’s modern tropically themed bar — in the SoHo district of Manhattan.
Boller’s creativity, passion and humility behind the bar is evidenced in his growing list of accolades. He has taken first place and been a regional finalist in over a dozen competitions and in 2008, Boller took second place in the prestigious 42Below Cocktail World Cup in New Zealand. His work has taken him all over the globe and his cocktails have appeared in USA Today, Denver Magazine, Bar & Nightlife Magazine, The Denver Post, Fox Business News, Fox Morning News as well as the CBS Morning News.