Whiskey Review: Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bourbon

Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whiskey from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way.

Since its start in distilling back in 2015, Indiana’s Hard Truth distillery has primarily focused on being a whiskey producer, more specifically, a maker of bourbon. Some of the earliest things they produced were bourbon, but it wasn’t something they were ready to bring to market until they thought it was ready.

Meanwhile, while the bourbon was aging, Hard Truth focused on other spirits, including vodka, rum, and, more recently, what is now a popular line of rye whiskeys. The bourbon kept sleeping, resting in specially designed barrels Hard Truth master distiller and co-founder Bryan Smith worked with Independent Stave Company to create. These barrels, sporting custom toast and char profiles intended to complement the sweet mash coming off the still, were built using 18- to 24-month dried staves, aged far beyond the typical three to six months.

Also, in a nod to its Indiana roots, Hard Truth worked as much as possible with in-state family farmers to source the grains making up the three new bourbon mash bills. Doug Miller, a local, fifth-generation Indiana farmer located just 60 miles from the distillery, grows most of the wheat and all of the corn used. Most of the rye is also from Indiana and is grown in the southwestern part of the state by farmer Dr. Duane Kuhlenschmidt.

These varied choices, rooted in a sweet mash-focused whiskey style and housed in a 325-acre destination distillery, which it moved to in 2018, marked a new chapter in the Hard Truth story when its new bourbons came to market recently.

“We’ve always been a bourbon company,” noted Smith when the bourbons debuted, “we’ve just been waiting for the right moment to introduce ours to the world.”

What’s in the bottle

The bourbon highlighted in this review is the Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bourbon. Essentially the anchor of the new line-up, it is a 90-proof offering aged five years after being distilled from a mash bill of 73% corn, 19% rye, and 8% malted barley. It is produced in small batches of 30 or fewer barrels and priced at $44.99 per 750 ml bottle.