On October 1, 2018, Beam Suntory released a Japanese-inspired rice vodka along with the new gin “Roku” http://www.forbes.com/sites/akikokatayama/2018/10/20/beam-suntorys-latest-product-1-japanese-craft-gin/. Haku means white in Japanese to represent white rice, a symbol of Japan. Haku is made from 100% the short grain Japonica rice, which is milled down to its 90% to purify the flavor. Previously Suntory released a rice-based vodka “AO” in 2014 (AO means blue to describe the blue color of the fertile rice field). “Hi” in Japan means whisky soda.

Source: Forbes October 20, 2018 21:00 UTC