Haku Japanese Vodka
Haku Japanese Vodka is a 750mL premium vodka bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof), distilled entirely from 100% Japanese white rice and finished through bamboo charcoal filtration. Made by the House of Suntory in Japan, it is a soft, subtly sweet vodka built on rice rather than grain or potato. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Base: 100% Japanese white rice (hakumai)
- Process: Rice-koji fermentation; pot-still distillation in Kagoshima; second distillation across pot and column stills; bamboo charcoal filtration in Osaka
- Origin: Japan
- Award: Gold Medal, International Spirits Competition 2024
White Rice, Distilled the Suntory Way
Haku takes its name from hakumai — pure Japanese white rice — and the same character read another way, junpaku, means untainted and brilliant. The rice is fermented with rice koji and distilled in pot stills in Kagoshima, in Japan's south, then distilled a second time using both pot and column stills before blending and a final filtration through bamboo charcoal in Osaka. Suntory has made vodka since its Hermes Vodka of 1956, and Haku, launched in 2018, is the house's modern craft expression of that lineage. Explore the range on the Haku vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Per the House of Suntory's notes: a soft, sweet nose with a delicate floral rice aroma; a rich palate that gradually envelops, carrying the natural sweetness and complexity of the rice; and a smooth finish with a pleasantly lingering sweetness credited to the bamboo charcoal filtration.
How to Enjoy
Serve it ice-cold and neat to taste the rice character at its purest, or let its soft sweetness round out a vodka martini or a highball. More Japanese spirits are in our whiskey collection and across the Suntory vendor page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Haku vodka made from?
100% Japanese white rice (hakumai), fermented with rice koji. No grain or potato is used.
How strong is Haku vodka?
It is bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) in the 750mL US bottling.
What does bamboo charcoal filtration do?
It is the final step of Haku's process in Osaka, polishing the blended spirit and giving the finish its smooth, lightly sweet character.
Rice, koji and bamboo charcoal — order Haku Japanese Vodka online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.
