Take five:

Did you know that in Japan, the number five symbolises luck, balance and lasting union? Fitting then that 2025 marks the fifth year of The House of Suntory DOJO programme. As a mentorship and development platform that prides itself on showcasing the art of Japanese bar culture to professional bartenders, we think  that number captures the spirit of DOJO to a T, inspiring both participants and those of us lucky enough to follow its journey.

We’ve been writing about the programme since its inception, and each year it impresses with its inclusive, engaging approach to education. More than just learning though, it’s about community, something we witnessed first hand when we took part in one of last year’s carefully curated Monozukuri Masterclasses set in the serene Fordham Abbey estate, home of the Dojima Sake Brewery– it’s like a mini-me Japan deep in the heart of Cambridgeshire. 

From walking through the Torii Gate to crafting pottery and witnessing bartenders exchange feedback on their Kaizen Classic Cocktails, the experience was more than educational – it fostered genuine growth and connection. That spirit of continuous improvement came into sharp focus at the Grand Finale at the Prince Akatoki in London, where thoughtful refinements elevated each serve. It was Kaizen in action – not just a concept, but a practice brought to life in every glass.

But that was last year. What’s in store for  the House of Suntory DOJO in 2025 which is already underway?  We caught up with Raffaele Di Monaco, The House of Suntory UK Brand Ambassador, to find out.

So Raffaele, how was last year’s programme for you? 

I think it was a great success because with DOJO and everything we do at Suntory is always about trying to keep that balance between the traditions and innovation, which is the essence of Japanese craftsmanship

Last year we were in a new location, Fordham Abbey in Cambridgeshire which was absolutely perfect. I don’t think it gets any better when it comes to a full Japanese setting in the UK. The fact that we were able to spend more time in the location really helped to create connections, which is another thing that we aim to do with DOJO, create community. 

We also restructured the programme slightly, but always in keeping with the same messages, the concept of harmony with nature, Japanese craftsmanship and, of course, the learnings for bartenders to apply to everything they do in their bars.

The execution of DOJO has been regarded as best in class by our global Suntory teams. So, in those terms it was very successful and we were very, very happy with it.

What does success of the programme look like? Or let’s put it another way, how do you measure success?

For me, the first sign of success is in the eyes and the smiles of the participating bartenders. Then there’s the positive feedback they leave at the end of the programme. I also consider the fact that the bartenders continue to be part of the Suntory community as a huge success, because that’s the main objective of DOJO,  to create a community of bartenders that become advocates of the brand. They’re the first people who talk to our guests about our products. In short, I don’t think there’s a better way to understand The House of Suntory than the DOJO programme. 

Can you share any of the feedback that you’ve had or some of the things that really stand out for you about what was said about the programme last year? 

The concept of modern Japanese hospitality in Japan is about understanding what we can do better for our guests, for our customers. So, we always do a pre- and post- evaluation test with the participants which helps us to understand the level of learning they get from the programme, our products and Japanese culture. 

The overall feedback is nearly 100%, particularly on the authenticity side of things. One piece that really stood out for me last year was, ‘Every programme should be made this way’. Some cocktail programmes focus on competing, some focus on learning and some focus on the experiential. The feedback we get is that DOJO covers all of these elements: there’s the learning, experiences, and the element of challenge, which is a nice thing to have because we all like prizes and it’s also a way to apply the learnings from the programme.

Every year there are teeny tweaks to the programme, is that something that you aim to do? Or is it something that evolves as the programme goes on?

You’re 100% right, each year there are teeny changes. It’s what we do at Suntory, we embrace the concept of Monozukuri, of Japanese craftsmanship. Even though we’ve got something that we know works and is our identity, at the same time, we need to find ways to continuously improve it. That’s the Kaizen mindset. 

The changes shouldn’t completely affect the balance of the programme or anything we do, but they need to have a purpose, to embrace refinement. One of the most important things that I’ve learned from these years working at Suntory and gaining a deeper understanding of Japanese culture is that the changes shouldn’t be so obvious that they are in the guests’ face. They are seamless within the execution of the programme.

So tell us about this year? What changes have you made and why? 

As mentioned, the mindset is always to continuously improve and refine. We’re very happy with the location, the core pillars of the programme and the way we’re delivering it, even though we are refining those as we go. The one thing that I wanted to do this year was revise the signing up process.

DOJO started five years ago and it keeps on growing as we go forward. But when we started, it was an invite-only programme as it was seen as a gift to our legacy partners, accounts and bartenders. But as it kept on growing, I also felt that we needed to change the entry process because there were more people interested in taking part. As a company we embrace diversity and inclusion really strongly and we wanted to make sure that this came across within our programme as well.

So this year for the first time, we opened up applications to any bartender who was eligible to work in the UK. It was a bit overwhelming to be honest because we received requests from over 120 applications – I was thinking that we’d get something like 40 or 50 because we didn’t do a big push, we weren’t looking for big numbers. We were looking for people who genuinely wanted to be part of the programme. 

What was the criteria?

We had a scoring system to help us select 20 bartenders. It went from one to five based on longevity in the industry, years of experience, length of service in their current venue and previous experience as well. It was important for us to know where they had worked before, not because we don’t want to approach junior bartenders or people with less experience but we deliver so much throughout the programme we want to make sure that everyone is at a similar level. 

The 55 or so bartenders that went through to the second stage then had to submit either a video or message on why they wanted to take part. Those who were chosen put a lot of work into their messages and their commitment to the programme really came through.

So you’ve changed the entry process, is there anything else that you’ve changed about this year?

We delivered the first two sessions a few weeks ago. They were very similar in structure to last year but we’ve changed a few things in the deliverables. So while there’s always the seasoning element with Haku Vodka, we introduced a new element to the Ikebana masterclass where we encouraged the bartenders to create a garnish for a Roku Gin Fizz to apply the learning of Ikebana to embrace the concept of aesthetic. 

We’re also adding a new element to our third masterclass in July. A couple of weeks ago, I came up with an idea for a session on taking pictures with smartphones. It’s something I wanted to do previously but it was a case of finding the right person who fits in with the programme and I finally found him! So we’ll be doing the pottery masterclass with Martin Miller like last year. He’ll give us an understanding of the craftsman mindset from a traditional point of view. Then we’ll go on to do a very new and unique tasting of Yamazaki Mizunara which again showcases craftsmanship.

We’ll follow that with the smartphone photography masterclass. When we told the bartenders that we were adding this element to the programme as a surprise, everyone cheered. It’s something that really resonates with them. Obviously, understanding the mindset of a craftsman by making pottery is fun to do but focusing on something they do in their daily lives, taking pictures of their drinks and bars is invaluable. We all have a smartphone but so many of us don’t actually know how to use them properly. Robin Bruhn, the person that we’re using for the session is absolutely incredible. He’ll be showing them how the settings, angle and colours make all the difference in creating an impactful photograph.

The main change this year will be in the finale. We’re going to have four experts talking about their respective crafts, to showcase and discuss how Japanese culture influences the way they work. 

Erik Lorincz will be talking about Japanese bartending and how it has influenced his style; we’ll also have a DOJO alumni, Gento Torigata talking about opening a Japanese bar in the UK. He’ll be sharing the learnings on the opening of Waltz but also how he takes seasonality to the next level when making his drinks. We then have Saki Nakataki, beverage director of Sushi Kanesaka Michelin-starred sushi restaurant at 45 Park Lane. She’ll be discussing Japanese hospitality and how it’s delivered in traditional Japanese restaurants, as well as how she finds a work/life balance which is a big topic in hospitality. We also have whisky writer, Dave Broom, talking about the Japanese whisky industry.

So will there be a competition element as well? 

Yes. In the morning we’ll have the panel discussion. Then we’ll have the Kaizen Classic challenge, followed by a luxury whisky tasting.

How much time do you give yourself before working on the next year’s programme? When do you decompress and when do you start again? 

It’s constantly ongoing. I don’t think you can ever really decompress because that’s the only way you keep that balance between retaining the core values of the programme but also applying changes. Next year, for example, I’m not thinking about doing anything completely new, but we need to apply changes that make sense and improve the delivery of the programme. The evolution focuses on what are we delivering that resonates with the audience? Can we give more? How much more? What didn’t work last year? How do we evolve that into something that works for us as well as the audience?

Now tell us about last year’s winner, Ryan Mackie. Remind us why he won and how he embodies DOJO? 

Last year we added a new element of giving the bartenders small challenges throughout the programme to directly apply their learnings. Every best in class challenge is awarded 10 points. We did this because not only do we want to focus on the end results of the Kaizen Classic Cocktail, which are judged by experts but we also want to see the commitment throughout the programme. 

Ryan was extremely committed throughout the programme which is why he won. You could see that he wanted to be there, he asked lots of questions, he wanted to learn, he wanted to engage with the brand, with the liquid, with his craftsmanship.

And how was the trip to Japan? You alluded that it was a little bit different this year, tell us about it?

Last year was the first year that DOJO was delivered in a total of 11 countries around the world because of how successful it’s been in the UK. So we had countries like Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Singapore, China, Australia, US, and of course, the UK and the winners from each country were on the same trip.

But there’s always something about learning with DOJO. So instead of just taking them to our beautiful distilleries and helping them discover and experience Japan, we also delivered the DOJO Global Forum which was a way for them to learn from industry leaders on their craft. This is what we’ll be recreating in the UK final on a smaller scale.

So at the Global Forum, we had Remy Savage from Bar With Shapes For A Name and Club Bauhaus talking about flavours, the design of his venues and the concept he uses in them; we had Julia Momose from Bar Kumiko in Chicago who spoke about opening an authentic Japanese bar in the West and the challenges she faced doing that. Keith Motsi from Virtù and Tom Egerton from Tokyo Confidential shared their experiences as Westerners opening a bar in Japan. Jim Meehan is a drink consultant for Suntory Global Spirits so he spoke about the history of Japanese bartending. Then we went to Bar High Five, the house, the birthplace, I would say, of Japanese bartending. We did a masterclass with Hidetsugu Ueno, but this was more of a ritual than anything because they already had met Ueno in his tour last year.. 

What are you most excited about for how the programme is shaping up for this year? 

The feedback has always been amazing but the excitement everyone had from the start is much greater this year – I think that’s because the bartenders have applied for their places and they’re all extremely thrilled to be there.

The lifespan of the programme is completely different now. Obviously there’s much more awareness of DOJO, I don’t think there is a bartender in the UK that doesn’t know about the programme and so the 20 people that made onto the programme are extremely excited. There’s such an amazing energy.

What’s the most important lesson that you’ve learnt in the three years that you’ve been working on DOJO? 

Advocacy is really the way to win people’s minds and hearts. Often what we see in the industry is that advocacy is seen as a thing to do to create a buzz on social media. But I feel that if it’s done with authenticity and the right spirit, you win much more than that. The one thing that I’ve learned from these three years is that you have to find something that works for the brand and then embrace it. We haven’t changed much in five years because the ethos of DOJO remains the same but equally we make sure that we bring value into it for everyone, for the participants first of all, value for our audience and value for the business. It’s also vital to bring value for yourself as well so you feel motivated to do more.

The House of Suntory DOJO Class of 2025

Maxwell Bowker, Nipperkin
Arjuna Brütsch, Bar With Shapes For A Name
Sara Cassano, Artesian
Nick Chapman, Lyaness
Luca Cicalese, Velvet By Salvatore Calabrese 
Nathan Craig, Dinings SW3
Amelie Diaz, Satan’s Whiskers
Juni Gunthie, Sexy Fish
Guilia Montico, Three Sheets Soho 
Matteo Minerva, Connaught Bar
Tom Nightingale, Speak In Code
Takuya Oda, Waltz
Kenta Ono, Kwãnt Mayfair
Nick Piercy, Sterling Bar
Zoe Shaw, Scarfes Bar
Zakary Shervington, Seed Library
Gabriel Tucker, Amaro Bar
Daniel Voroneanu, Treehouse Hotel 
Noa Wang, Bar Lotus
Chloe Yeung, Panda & Sons

Keep up-to-date with The House of Suntory DOJO Programme at Suntorydojo.com and follow Raffaele di Monaco @raff_suntorytimes

All photography @distinctlyaware