Bourbon

Bourbon Review: Hard Truth Bottled-In-Bond Four Grain Bourbon

We review Hard Truth Bottled-In-Bond Four Grain Bourbon, a 100-proof offering aged five years after being distilled from a mash bill of 79% corn, 9% rye, 9% wheat, and 4% malted barley.

OVERALL RATING

8
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Hard Truth Bottled-In-Bond Four Grain Bourbon review

Tasting Notes

About:

Aged five years after being distilled from a mash bill of 79% corn, 9% rye, 9% wheat, and 4% malted barley; bottled at 100 proof; priced at $59.99.
Appearance:
This has your typical golden-amber color goodness in the glass, supported by a strong leg structure and moderate viscosity.
Nose:
The four-grain mash reflects well in the aromatics—the sweetness of the corn is there, but the others help chill it out. Notes of consideration include a mellow vanilla, a light whiff of oak, a wee bit of cotton candy, caramel, a nod of fudge brownie, and just a kiss of black pepper.
Palate:
The palate on this is nicely more complex than other Hard Truth bourbons tried to date, reflecting that four-grain mix in a way that surprises my taste buds with chocolate pudding, caramel, beautiful vanilla, a dash of oak, toffee, a note of coriander, and a kick of buttery popcorn.
Finish:
This bourbon’s finish is to the point, giving a quick pop of a confectionery/spicy mix before fading off the stage without much more to say.
Comments:
The Hard Truth Four Grain Bourbon holds itself together strongly across the tasting compared to previous Hard Truth bourbons reviewed so far. That’s ironic, given that it is likely a more complex type of expression to master given the four-grain mash bill—nonetheless, an excellent job on this offering.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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