Russ (Russell) became professionally involved in Sake in 2019 when he opened a sake bar in Seattle with his business partner, after leaving a long career in software. He gained practical experience in: sake service; designing & maintaining a sake list; sake retail and promotion; and sake pairing. After leaving the bar he worked for a US Sake importer as a Japanese Beverage Specialist handling out of state sales and gained his Educator certification with WSET.

His introduction to the Sake Sommelier Academy came from his Sake Mentor, Marcus Pakiser (Sake Samurai). Subsequently he became a Certified Sake Sommelier and Sake Educator in order to bring the Certified Sake Sommelier program to Food and Beverage workers. He is an experienced coach and invests in the personal development of his students.

Russell operates Deep Dive Sake School to share his knowledge & passion for sake with students!

Deep Dive Sake School’s focus is to provide the information and skills for your success in beverage service and liquor distribution. A deep technical knowledge isn’t the same as an ability to provide excellent hospitality or successful sales.

By combining experiential, practical and theoretical learning Deep Dive Sake School will help you “talk sake” in a way that easily connects with guests and customers.

I believe that it’s important that the classes satisfies your learning goals, so I work hard to understand what you need and adjust my content focus to your learning objectives.