Never Tried Sweet Mash Whiskey? These Four Limited-Edition Bottles Are the Perfect Introduction
If you see “Distilled in Indiana” on a bottle of whiskey, that usually means one thing: the liquid comes from MGP, the factory-like distillery that makes whiskey for its own brands and many others, including Dickel Rye, Bulleit Rye, and Redemption Bourbon.
But there’s another, much smaller distillery that's making some fantastic whiskey in the Hoosier State as well: Hard Truth Distilling Co., a craft operation located in the small town of Nashville, IN.
Hard Truth opened in 2015 in a much smaller facility, moving three years later to its current home. It's focused on sweet mash whiskey, which means that each batch of whiskey is completely new. On the other hand, sour mash—much more commonly used in American whiskey—adds a bit of the previous batch to the current batch to maintain consistency.
I asked master distiller Bryan Smith to explain the process. He learned about it from Wilderness Trail co-founder Pat Heist, Ph.D.
“Our new make distillate, using the sweet mash process, is bright and clean with beautiful bursts of tropical fruit notes,” Smith said. “After time in a barrel, this ultimately becomes a soft, complex, and balanced whiskey that stands out in the crowd during blind tasting flights.”
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Smith said that there are some challenges, however, specifically consistency and distillery hygiene. To counteract them, the distillery uses high quality equipment and tight operating procedures. Additionally, he credits the grain farmers with which Hard Truth works.
"The intimate relationship we have with our farmers, providing us with grain, is how Hard Truth is able to succeed with sweet mashing,” he said. “Simply put, if you are able to successfully execute sweet mashing consistently, you are going to create a high quality whiskey that stands heads and shoulders above your sour mash counterparts.”
The proof is in the whiskey, and the distillery has been releasing a lot of it. This fall, four new Hard Truth Reserve whiskeys came out, each using different barrels for maturation and different blending techniques.
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Hard Truth Barrel Finished Reserve 2024 Blend
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Barrel Finished Reserve 2024 Blend is an extension of last year’s release. It's a blend of rye whiskeys (94 percent rye, six percent malted barley) finished in four different casks: cognac, Pedro Ximenez sherry, Pedro Ximenez brandy, and sauternes.
The blend was then finished with toasted Jupilles French oak. Just 11 barrels of this three-year-old whiskey were produced, which has notes of stone fruit, grape, and spice on the palate.
Hard Truth Double Oaked Sweet Mash Rye
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The next whiskey is called Double Oaked Sweet Mash Rye. This uses the same mash bill as the previous whiskey, but it was aged for about two and a half years before being barreled in new charred oak casks for more than three years. Just 16 barrels of this 106.9 proof whiskey were produced. The liquid has notes of brown sugar, raisin, and vanilla.
Hard Truth Master Distiller’s Reserve 2024 Blend
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Next up is the Master Distiller’s Reserve 2024 Blend, which combines three unique mash bills: chocolate malt (20 percent), caramel malt (50 percent), and malted sweet mash rye (30 percent). Those names refer to the extent each grain is toasted to bring out different flavors. This whiskey was aged for about five years, with a yield of 20 barrels total. Look for notes of maple, caramel, and fruit on the palate.
Hard Truth Maple Brûlée Rye
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Finally, Hard Truth released its Maple Brûlée Rye expression. This whiskey, made from a different mash bill of 69 percent rye, was aged for more than three years in new charred oak, then finished in maple brûlée barrels for another year.
Those casks came from the Tonnellerie Moreau cooperage in Quebec, and were previously used to mature bourbon for nearly a decade, followed by maple syrup for about a year. They were re-charred, but still imbued the whiskey with notes of maple, vanilla, and spice. As a final touch, the distillery also used French oak to finish.
You can find these whiskeys and others from the Hard Truth portfolio available to purchase at liquor stores, and online from ReserveBar depending on what state you are in.