For distillers & producers
Bring your spirits to Britain.
A UK membership club for small Japanese houses. Members taste first, then buy full bottles. We handle import, duty, warehouse and delivery.
Why this matters
The UK wants what big importers overlook
Japan has hundreds of distilleries. The big British and European buyers chase the famous names. The small family houses — often former sake or shochu makers with a real history — rarely reach Britain at all. That gap is our whole business.
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Entry to a new market
A dedicated channel into the UK for houses that are not already on every retailer’s list. Sole UK access when it makes sense for both of us — real scarcity, not a discount war.
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A unique concept
Not a general spirits shop. A membership club: quarterly tasting boxes, printed stories, member ratings, then full-bottle sales of what people loved. Discovery first, volume second.
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No export headache
Many makers stay domestic because export is painful. We take that on: shipping, customs, duty, VAT, bonded warehousing and last-mile delivery to adult customers in Britain.
The model
Taste first. Buy after.
Four times a year, members receive a seasonal box of three small bottles (around 200 ml each) from houses Britain has rarely or never met. Each bottle comes with your story: who you are, where you work, why this liquid exists.
Members taste at home. Then they buy full bottles of whatever they loved, at member price. We do not ration them. The tasting is the sample; the full bottle is the sale.
For you, that means introduction without forcing a cold full-bottle purchase — and a clear path from “who are they?” to repeat demand, UK tastings, and deeper partnership.
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Introduction
You feature in a seasonal box. Members meet your spirit with notes, photos and context — not a faceless SKU.
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Feedback
Members rate what they taste. Strong houses come back. Their palate is our buying committee — and evidence for your next order.
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Full bottles
What they love, they buy in full. Attach rate is the number that matters: every sample is an invitation to stock your larger bottle.
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Community
UK tastings, guest places, and over time trips to Japan. A standing community of lovers, not a one-click cart.
Reliable service
What we take off your plate
Export is the reason many excellent houses never leave Japan. Our job is to make the UK simple: one relationship, one partner, end-to-end.
- Import & dutyWe manage shipping from Japan, UK customs, excise and VAT. You do not need a British warehouse or a British licence to start the conversation.
- Bonded storageStock lands in a bonded warehouse in England, with professional storage and fulfilment — not a garage, not a risk on your reputation.
- DistributionOrders go to verified adult customers across the UK. Age checks, packaging, delivery tracking. Small founding batches are fine; we scale with demand.
- MarketingYour house is written up for members: origin, people, process. Seasonal features, tasting cards, member scores, and UK events when the timing is right.
- Commercial clarityTransparent terms, realistic volumes, and a preference for houses we can grow with — gin or shochu today can open the door for whisky when it matures.
- One contactJapan-side relationship and UK-side operations under one brand. Real conversations, not only cold email. English and Japanese fluency on the team.
How we work together
From first talk to first box
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Conversation
A real discussion — interest, capacity, export readiness. No hard sell. If it is not a fit, we say so early.
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Taste together
We sample as a team. Range matters: peat to honey, not one note. Only spirits we would put our own names behind go forward.
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Agree the shape
Small bottles for the box, full bottles for members, volumes, exclusivity where it helps, and who writes the story with you.
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Ship & feature
We import, warehouse and introduce you to members. Ratings and full-bottle demand tell us how deep to go next.
Fit
Who this is for
We are looking for
- Small, independent houses — family firms, not only the famous names already everywhere in Europe.
- A real history where possible: sake, shochu or long craft roots, not a still set up last week to chase a trend.
- Recognition at home — awards, local respect, or a reputation among people who know the category.
- Spirits not yet widely sold in the UK, or categories (gin, shochu, awamori) that can open whisky relationships later.
- Willingness to support small formats and a membership story — labels, notes, and pride in who drinks your liquid.
We are not
- A mass discounter or an Amazon-style catalogue.
- An investment platform. Everything we sell is for drinking.
- Looking for hundred-SKU dumps. A handful of serious partners beats a crowded shelf.
- Promising overnight volume. Founding batches may start around a hundred bottles per house; we grow with proof.
Questions distillers ask
Will you only take whisky?
No. Whisky, craft gin, honkaku shochu and awamori all fit. Many young houses fund maturing whisky with gin or shochu today — a relationship now can become first call on whisky later.
Do you need small bottles from day one?
Small bottles (or an agreed small format) make the tasting box work. If you already produce airport-style or sample formats, that helps. Alternatives — including filling in Japan — are part of the conversation. We would rather design something premium with you than force a bad process.
How exclusive is exclusive?
For houses we grow with, we prefer clear UK access so members cannot get you on every high street. Terms are negotiated honestly. Exclusivity is earned by committed volume, storytelling and care — not demanded as a free option.
What volumes should we expect at the start?
Early seasons are small on purpose. Think founding batches in the order of a hundred bottles per feature, then full-bottle restocks driven by member demand. We would rather under-promise and reorder than strand stock you cannot move.
Who pays for marketing?
Membership marketing, tasting cards, site features and UK community activity are our cost of running the club. Your investment is good liquid, honest stories, and the partnership time to get the details right.
Can we meet in Japan?
Yes. Our Japan lead visits houses; co-founders travel when a relationship is serious. We prefer real conversations and shared tasting over long email chains.