Nashville, Ind. (October 26, 2022) – Hard Truth Distilling Co., an award-winning whiskey distillery located in Brown County, Indiana, today announced the release of Barrel Finished Reserve, four unique pairings of Hard Truth’s finest sweet mash aged in the highest quality barrels sourced from some of the world’s most celebrated winemakers.

All four new whiskeys come under Hard Truth’s award-winning Sweet Mash Rye label and will be available in extremely limited quantities. Barrel Finished Reserve, which will be an annual offering, is mashed, distilled, aged, and bottled by the distillers at the Hard Truth distillery. Each expression is available in 750 mL bottles with a suggested retail price of $99.99.

The barrel lineup includes Pedro Ximénez Sherry, Pedro Ximénez Brandy, Sauternes and Cognac. Each barrel housed Hard Truth Sweet Rye’s mainline RW-1 mash bill of 94% rye and 6% malted barley.

According to Bryan Smith, Hard Truth Master Distiller, “Barrel finishing in the American whiskey scene has been an exciting space over the past few years.”  Smith tapped Chris Moore, Hard Truth’s barrel program manager, who has robust knowledge and experience in the world of wine and wine-based spirits, to source the highest quality finishing barrels without cost consideration.

“To stay consistent with Hard Truth’s philosophy for making the highest quality whiskey, it was critical that we use not just any barrel – but instead use barrels with the level of quality and provenance that could match and complement its specific style of sweet mash whiskey making,” said Moore.”

Moore added that once the barrels were selected, extreme care was taken to match the whiskey blend to each finishing cask. The result being four custom blends that each enhance the flavor of these finishing barrels without sacrificing the complexity and richness of Hard Truth’s sweet mash whiskey.

Smith concluded: “We are thrilled with the way these whiskeys finished out and excited for our fans to get these limited bottles. The intent and careful work done on the front end of this project really shows off in the glass.”

About Hard Truth Distilling Co.
‍Headquartered in Nashville, Indiana, Hard Truth Distilling Co. produces more than 20 premium spirits, including the critically acclaimed Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey and top-selling Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka, Hard Truth Maple Bourbon Cream, Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum, and Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum Cream.

Hard Truth Distilling Co. is an industry leader in the production of sweet mash rye whiskeys. In addition to Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey, they recently released a new Sweet Mash Rye whiskey project in collaboration with Mellencamp Whiskey Company. The new partnership will include a four-part, limited collectors series of Hard Truth’s award-winning Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey to be released in the spring and fall. The first release called Harvest Sweet Mash Rye launched at the Hard Truth Distillery on September 9.

Hard Truth’s spirits are distributed in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Washington, D.C. and The Bahamas.