Hard Truth Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Review

Hard Truth is a distillery located in Nashville, Indiana. Chances are you’ve heard of the whiskey, but not the town. Nashville is a quirky tourist destination full of little shops that sets on the outskirts of Brown County State Park. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors pass through it on their way to Bloomington or to explore the natural wonders of the state park.

With that much traffic, it’s no wonder that Hard Truth took home the title of “Most Visited Distillery in 2020.” That year an astonishing 400,000 people graced its expansive grounds (that was 100,000 more than Buffalo Trace took in that year). Their numbers have only grown since then.

From Big Woods Brewing Company to Hard Truth Distillery

It was 2015 when Hard Truth first began to experiment with distillation on a 40-gallon pot still located on the top floor of their local pizza brewpub named “Big Woods.” Since then, they’ve increased their production exponentially every year. Oh, and in case you missed it, yes they were a craft brewery first (Big Woods Brewing Co). Their brand became so big that they rebranded it to “Quaff On! Brewing Company.” That unassuming restaurant/brewpub in Nashville has spawned 7 different restaurant locations and a tasting bar in downtown Indianapolis. You can also buy Quaff On! beer in 3 different states.

As much as brewing ran through the veins of the Big Woods founders, they wanted to go all-in to the distilling scene. Around 2017 they began construction of a large distillery. They decided to keep it close to their original location in Nashville. As the distillery was being built and the equipment was being calibrated, Hard Truth began to source barrels of rye whiskey from MGP. Later, we found that they were also sourcing barrels of rye whiskey and wheated bourbon from Wilderness Trail. More on those in a minute.

Hard Truth’s column still comes online in 2018

Based on the labels of products I’ve seen, Hard Truth would start laying down their first barrels in 2018. They waited until 2020 to release their first Sweet Mash Rye in their own distinctive bottle. Two years later, they released a limited run of 5-year-old “Kentucky Sweet Mash” Rye Whiskey and Bourbon. These used the same broad-shouldered bottle, but wore cream-colored labels. These barrels were sourced from Wilderness Trail. I assume there was a connection between the two based on Hard Truth’s decision to make only “sweet mash” whiskey – a method of whiskeymaking that uses no backset from previous fermentations.

Sourcing whiskey bought them some time to continue aging their own sweet mash bourbon that they had laid down in the first half of 2019. This was a sound decision because bourbon will always take longer to come of age than rye whiskey. Finally, in April 2024, their bourbon hit the 5-year mark. Hard Truth made the decision to bottle it in accordance to the Bottled-in-Bond act. This is always a good sign from a new(ish) producer and allows enthusiasts to compare it on equal footing to most other distilleries.

As I previously mentioned, Hard Truth had bottled bourbon and rye whiskey sourced from Wilderness Trail. I don’t know this for a fact, but I want to say they received some advice or education from Dr. Pat Heist (Wilderness Trail’s founder) in regards to distillation. I say this because a lot of their operation resembles Wilderness Trail’s. For starters, Hard Truth made the decision to make all of their whiskey from a sweet mash fermentation rather than a more traditional sour mash. This might be common for very small distilleries, but it is a planned choice for larger ones due to being more labor intensive and slightly more expensive.

Hard Truth’s Vendome copper column still (14″ diameter) is similar to Wilderness Trail’s 18″ diameter column still that they had around that same time (Wilderness Trail would go on to install a 36″ one in 2018).

Other similarities include a focus on wheated bourbon and rye whiskey recipes. Wilderness Trail’s wheated bourbon uses 64% corn, 24% wheat and 12% malted barley whereas Hard Truth modified it a little and made one using 69% corn, 19% wheat and 12% malted barley. The still proof for Wilderness Trail is typically 137 proof and Hard Truth uses 138 proof. Wilderness Trail utilizes a low barrel entry proof for their bourbon (110) and so does Hard Truth (113). This low barrel entry proof is ideal for wheated bourbons and it’s what a majority of the heritage distilleries do for theirs (110 for Maker’s Mark and 114 for Weller).

One of the big differences is that aging is done in 53 gallon barrels that are aged in palletized warehouses as opposed to ricks like Wilderness Trail uses.

My point with all of this information is that if you like Wilderness Trail products, Hard Truth should be on your short list for whiskies to try next.

So how did the final product turn out? Thanks to my friend Brad, I get to find out. I tasted this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Plenty of soft oak scents couple with some more herbal notes like wildflowers and spring meadow. Spice notes like cinnamon, allspice and cocoa powder add complexity while vanilla and honeybuns mellow things out with a sweet approach. Fruit comes by way of various fruit jams (cherry and apricot). I can still find some “craft” notes like dry hay and a touch of astringency, but it they feel like they are on their way out if it was allowed to rest in a barrel for a couple more years.

Palate: Cinnamon candies deliver a sharp spice note along with white pepper, sweet chili oil and flat ginger ale. Fruit notes come by way of flat Orange Fanta and a bit of unripe cherry. The oak is small and still being developed, just like the sweetness from the barrel. Those sweet notes taste unfamiliar to most bourbons with flavors like barley sugar and sweet tea.

Finish: Lingering notes of flat ginger ale, oak and hard orange candies dominate the finish. The sweet flavors from the palate finally show up as a bit more mature with brown sugar and molasses cookies. I can even find a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg towards the end, too.

Score: 6.4/10

Hard Truth’s first entry into the wheated bourbon scene is a success in my eyes. While they haven’t been able to remove all crafty notes from the whiskey, it’s still balanced, loaded with flavor and easy to drink. The fact that it’s a wheated bourbon also deserves some praise because that’s the hardest grain for distillers to get right. It needs age to filter out all of the off-putting notes like rubber erasers, petrochemicals and nail polish remover. Hard Truth’s bourbon manages to avoid those by waiting until the 5-year mark before bottling. I think it will only get better as they continue to allow it to age.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest, the reason I haven’t purchased any of the Hard Truth offerings has been their price point. For years, I’ve seen their 2+ year old rye whiskey going for $70 at local stores. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen their other products below $60. But Hard Truth’s wheated bourbon comes in at a respectable $51 at my local Total Wine. That’s about $10 per-year-aged – which is on target with what most heritage distilleries charge these days. I’d like to see similar pricing across the board in their future, but for now I’ll take what I can get.

Most enthusiasts are quick to declare that they prefer wheated bourbon when they get into this hobby. It’s usually because of a positive experience with bottles of Weller, Pappy or Maker’s Mark. Later they find out that there isn’t a big selection in the wheated scene and even less that’s actually good. So when a good wheated bourbon comes along, I think it needs to be pointed out. Hard Truth is making one of them and I encourage you to take the plunge if you’re looking to try something new.