Indiana’s Hard Truth Distilling recently introduced their High Road Sweet Mash Rye, a new whiskey expression that broadens the palate with the nuances and subtleties of the sweet mash rye distilling process.
Hard Truth’s Master Distiller Bryan Smith, in a prepared statement, said the overwhelmingly positive response to Hard Truth’s growing line of sweet mash rye whiskies, “in terms of sales and feedback from reviewers and consumers alike,” led to the development of a sweet mash rye with a lower proof and price point.
In turn, they hope to build on the sweet mash category.
“Our internal evaluation panel results, along with taste-testing in 20-plus markets, confirmed that this is one of the most delicious, sweet mash rye whiskies we’ve ever produced,” Smith said. “Not coincidentally, this will be our first year-round sweet mash rye whiskey with corn in the mash bill.”
That High Road mash bill is 55% rye, 36% corn, and 9% malted barley.
Hard Truth High Road Sweet Mash Rye clocks in at 46.5% ABV, 93 proof. It has a suggested retail price of $39.99 per 750ml bottle.
The distiller’s notes show that High Road Sweet Mash Rye has a deep copper color and on the nose, has aromas of apricot jam, honey, baking spice and graham cracker. Its palate features vanilla, maple, custard, and spices. It finishes with a lingering caramel that fades to honey, coffee and nougat.
Smith said that sweet mashing, a process in which each batch of whiskey starts with entirely fresh ingredients, typically results in whiskeys that are softer and have a more complex palate.
Trending Stories
“And even though the process is more labor intensive, meticulous and costly than sour mashing, we believe the result is a rye whiskey that is both distinctive and delicious,” he added.
The eight-year-old distillery, located on 325 wooded acres in Brown County, Indiana, just finished a major distillery expansion that includes the construction of its second rackhouse, twice the size of Hard Truth’s first rackhouse. This tripled their storage capacity from 4,000 to 12,000 barrels.
Hard Truth’s spirits are distributed in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming with several new states coming in 2023.
Latest News