mai is a boutique Japanese fine sake merchant with a curated collection of delicious, clean, and artisanal drinks that fit seamlessly into your lifestyle.

Every mai sake is hand-crafted by esteemed sake makers across Japan whom we proudly call our friends and partners.

Our mission?

To make Japanese fine sake accessible to everyone, every day, everywhere.

That is why we have tasted hundreds of brews from Japan’s most sought-after sake breweries to bring you a curated collection of premium drinks.

Whether you’re enjoying a candlelit dinner or kicking back and relaxing, we hope you can elevate whatever you’re doing with a bottle of mai.

Meet Founder:

Erika Haigh

Hi. My name is Erika and I am a sake sommelier, educator, and the founder of mai.

I am half Japanese, half Canadian, and was born and raised in Japan until the age of 18. Unfortunately during those years, I harbored dreams of living abroad without much interest in Japanese culture.

Nearly a decade later, while working as a wine sommelier in London, U.K., a brief encounter with sake ended up leading me down the sake rabbit hole. The more I delved into the world of sake, the more my passion grew and the stronger my connection became with my Japanese heritage and identity.

Soon afterwards, I had the fortune of connecting with numerous breweries throughout Japan and savouring an extensive array of sake. I was captivated by the artistry inherent in sake-making and the incredible diversity within the sake world. It became clear to me that sake brewing is an art form, with each bottle serving as a reflection of the brewer's passion and skill.

These realisations fueled my desire to share this rich tapestry of flavours and craftsmanship with as many people as possible and I hope to do so through mai, this community we build, together.

Thank you for joining me on this exciting journey of creating a world where Japanese fine sake is a drink for everyone, every day, everywhere.

Kanpai x

Erika's credentials include International Kikisake-shi Sommelier (SSI), WSET Level 3 Sake 2018, WSET Level 3 Wine 2018, WSET Level 2 Spirits 2019, Certified Sake Professional - Sake Education Council 2022, Sake Scholar - Sake Scholar Course 2023, ISS - Shochu Advisor 2023. She is also a sake judge at the International Wine Challenge (IWC).

Did you know?

‘mai’ means ‘every’ when written with this Japanese character 毎, which illustrates our vision of creating a world where sake is for everyone, every day, everywhere.

Yet when mai is written like this 米, it is the Japanese character for ‘rice,’ which is the main ingredient used when making sake.

And when written like this 舞, mai can also mean to 'dance,' celebrate, and to come together in festivity, which is exactly what we hope you are doing when drinking a bottle of mai.