Description
Certified Sake Adviser
Prepare for a career in the restaurant, beverage, or food industry with our Certified Sake Adviser course. This course offers essential background knowledge on sake, including its history, production process, and types. Students will gain the skills to confidently explain basic sake varieties and brewing methods.
Note: Certified Sake Adviser graduates are eligible to enroll in the advanced Certified Sake Sommelier Course.
Course Schedule
Monday, November 16, 2026
- Online Lecture: 9:00am – 4:00pm PT | 12:00pm – 7:00pm ET
Please adjust the schedule to your local time zone.
Exam Schedule & Details
Wednesday, November 23, 2026
- Online Exam: 10:00am – 11:00am PT | 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET
Please adjust the schedule to your local time zone.
The one-hour exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions based on the textbook and lecture material. A blind tasting exam is not included at the Sake Adviser level.
Note: A minimum score of 75% is required to pass.
Main Concepts Covered
- The history of sake in Japan
- Sake ingredients and brewing processes
- Sake terminology and reading production labels
- Principles of sake storage, selection, and service
- Introduction of sake tasting and analysis
Study Support
All students will receive a review guide to support course preparation. We encourage students to contact us prior to the course with any questions regarding materials.
Prerequisites
There are no entry requirements for this qualification.
Important Notice
- Participants must be 21 years of age or older to enroll and take the exam.
- Registration closes once the course reaches capacity or after the enrollment deadline of Friday, October 30, 2026. Late registrations may be subject to additional textbook rush-shipping fees.
- Zoom access details will be provided after registration is complete.
- If a student cancels before tasting samples are shipped, a full refund will be issued. Cancellations made after samples have shipped are non-refundable; however, the course fee may be applied to a future class.
- Please register using your legal name as it appears on your government-issued ID. This name will be printed on your certificate.
Instructor: Cole Youngner
Cole holds certifications including:
- WSET Level 3 Award in Sake & Spirits
- Sake Adviser, Sake School of America
- 2021 Bartender of the Year, Heaven Hill Brands
Cole’s first exposure to Japanese culture was through anime, and a near lifelong love for anime would unfold into a wider appreciation for Japanese bartending, cocktails, tea, music, writers, poetry, and history. An eager lifelong learner, Cole is passionate about knowledge and education not for personal gain but for being a connector of people, ideas, experiences, and culture. A trained health scientist and researcher, he brings a scholarly enthusiasm to beverage education. Fast forward to 2016, Cole would begin his beverage career, working at one of the best bottle shops for fine wine and spirits in Atlanta. Wine and spirits retail led into working in bars and restaurants, and honing his craft in hospitality, cocktails, spirits, and wine. After awards and recognition, Cole stepped away from bars but keeps his feet wet in the beverage world now as an educator, earning his WSET Level 3 in Spirits and then Sake. He has continued teaching in some of his other passions such as yoga, meditation, and writing. After 18 years in Atlanta, GA, Cole now lives in Portland, Oregon and looks forward to bringing his scholarly enthusiasm and hospitality background to sake education. He firmly believes sake is both mystical and magical but also for everyone, and learning about it should be fun, a little bit nerdy, but mostly delicious.
