{"id":14374,"date":"2026-04-09T17:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/?p=14374"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:54:15","slug":"suntory-dojo-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/nz\/suntory-dojo-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Applications Open: Suntory DOJO 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>UK bartenders invited into the Art of Japanese Craft<\/h2>\n<h3>House of Suntory, the founding house of Japanese Whisky, has opened applications for its 2026 Suntory DOJO programme.<\/h3>\n<p>Twenty bartenders from across the UK will have the opportunity to partake in a 6-month course of masterclasses, creative challenges and wider cultural experiences. One standout bartender will win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan, offering first-hand exposure to the traditions that have defined Japanese bar culture.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJO has already established itself at spotlighting emerging talent amongst Bartenders as previous participants include standout names such as Ryan Mackie, Francesco Cercato and Amine Fechtal.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14391 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC03939-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"980\" height=\"653\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC03939-2.jpg 980w, https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC03939-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC03939-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Key dates to know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Application Stage 1:<\/strong> 30 March &#8211; 13 April 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Application Stage 2:<\/strong> 20 April &#8211; May 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Successful applicants will then enter the programme.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Essence of Japan Masterclasses: <\/strong>24 &#8211; 26 June 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>1-to-1 Mentorship Sessions:<\/strong> July 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kaizen Menu Challenge:<\/strong> 11 August &#8211; 1 September 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>DOJO Closing Ceremony:<\/strong> 2 September 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\">Full details and application information visit: <b><a title=\"https:\/\/www.suntorydojo.com\/home\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.suntorydojo.com\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-outlook-id=\"5b911074-0511-4c33-a55f-2fe5863f06b2\" data-linkindex=\"2\">suntorydojo.com\/home<\/a><\/b><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK bartenders invited into the Art of Japanese Craft House of Suntory, the founding house of Japanese Whisky, has opened applications for its 2026 Suntory DOJO programme. Twenty bartenders from&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":14397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,1,342],"tags":[37,788,789,316],"class_list":["post-14374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bartenders","category-sommelier-edit-news","category-whisky","tag-news","tag-suntory","tag-suntory-dojo","tag-whisky","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Applications Open: Suntory DOJO 2026 | Sommelier Edit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"House of Suntory, the founding house of Japanese Whisky, has opened applications for its 2026 Suntory DOJO programme.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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