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Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Nashville, IN (August 29, 2024) — Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey, a single barrel expression from Hard Truth Distilling Co. aged in the “world’s smallest floating rackhouse,” will be bottled and auctioned off with 100% of sales going to Farm Aid in support of sustainable family farming in America.
“For more than three years, hundreds of thousands of visitors have seen and asked about the mysterious lone barrel floating on the pond at our distillery,” said Bryan Smith, Hard Truth Master Distiller.
“Even though it holds just one barrel, it is, indeed, a federally bonded and registered whiskey rackhouse,” Smith explained. “We filed the same paperwork and adhered to the same regulations as we have for our other on-site rackhouses that, in total, can hold more than 23,000 barrels.”
As for the whiskey inside that floating single barrel, Smith says, “Due to the unique nature of this aging environment, the interaction between our sweet mash whiskeys and their surroundings help to connect the natural world with something you can actually taste, and it is delicious. This was a perfect opportunity to support family farmers through Farm Aid.”
The floating barrel will produce approximately one hundred 750 mL bottles of Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey. The majority of those bottles will be given to bourbon societies and Hard Truth partners to be auctioned off among their members, with 100 percent of the sale price going directly to Farm Aid.
Each auction bottle will be encased in a commemorative Farm Aid box. Any remaining bottles, without the commemorative box, will be made available at a later date as a top-shelf purchase at Hard Truth’s distillery in Nashville, Indiana.
The whiskey was crafted with Hard Truth’s RW-1 mash bill, which features 94 percent rye and 6 percent malted barley, and was bottled at 53.75 percent ABV (107.5 proof).
Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey offers an aroma with coffee, peanut brittle, and bold baking spice. On the palate, it features notes of rich cherry syrup, brown sugar, and rye spice that lead to orange zest and custard. The finish blooms with dark sweet cherry and subtle mocha that give way to cracked black pepper, leather, and oak.
Smith said the idea of putting a precious barrel of sweet mash rye whiskey on the pond was part experiment, part guest attraction.
“We knew that by leaving this barrel to benefit from the movement from the waves of the pond and the unique temperature and humidity shifts from mother nature season after season, we would create a totally unique flavor profile in the resulting whiskey,” he noted.
“The parallels between this project and how our farmers work with the natural environments to create great grains, make this the perfect whiskey to be part of our Grounded in Truth campaign, which supports family farmers.”
Beginning immediately and running until September 8th, auctions are taking place in both public and private bourbon clubs in states from Indiana to Florida and beyond. Some of the participating groups include Indiana Bourbon, St Louis Bourbon Society, The Chicago Bourbon Club, Southwest Florida Bourbon Society, and Lexington Bourbon Society, as well as influencers like My Bourbon Journey.
A partial list of auction locations will be shared, along with more details, at this publicly shareable link: https://hardtruth.com/grounded-in-truth/
Hard Truth’s Partnership with Farm Aid
Hard Truth launched its cause platform called Grounded in Truth to celebrate and show its appreciation for the small, independent, and heritage farmers who provide the carefully cultivated, quality grains that lay the foundation for Hard Truth’s spirits.
Under its Grounded in Truth banner, the distillery is supporting agriculturally focused not-for-profit organizations, including Farm Aid, which provide crucial resources and support for family farmers.
According to Smith, “When it comes to supporting family farmers, our values are well aligned with Farm Aid, making them the perfect partners for this charitable effort.”
“We love the creative way Hard Truth is generating contributions for our work,” said Glenda Yoder of Farm Aid. “We, too, believe the values and missions of Hard Truth and Farm Aid are well aligned and we’re grateful they made Farm Aid the recipient of sales from the floating barrel whiskey.”
Farm Aid
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years,
Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised nearly $80 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
Grounded in Truth
The agricultural community provides the backbone for the distilling industry, and the vast majority of the grains that Hard Truth uses in its craft spirits come from local Indiana and Midwest farms.
Grounded in Truth expands on Hard Truth’s commitment to small, independent, and heritage farmers through creative partnerships with agriculturally focused, not-for-profit organizations that provide valuable resources and support for family farmers — like Farm Aid, Grounded in Truth’s first giving partner.
About Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Hard Truth Distilling Co. is an industry leader in the production of sweet mash whiskey, and, in 2024, was named the Indiana Distillery of the Year by the NY International Spirits Competition.
In addition to its critically-acclaimed line of sweet mash bourbons and rye whiskeys, the Nashville, Indiana-based Hard Truth also crafts a selection of premium craft spirits, including top-selling Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum, Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum Cream, Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka, and Hard Truth Maple Bourbon Cream.
Sweet Mash Rye, Hard Truth’s first whiskey to market, earned a spot with its original release in the top 50 of Fred Minnick's Top 100 American Whiskeys of 2021. In 2023, a barrel-finished expression of Sweet Mash Rye was named #34 in Minnick’s Top 100 from more than 900 whiskeys tasted.
Sweet Mash Rye has also taken home a gold medal in USA Spirits awards, won double platinum medal in the ASCOTS, scored a 93 in Whiskey Advocate, and was named the #3 top American Rye in the world by the International Whisky Competition, known as “the Olympics of whisky competitions.”
In February 2024, Hard Truth released its first grain-to-glass Sweet Mash Bourbons. These include the main line Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bourbon, along with bottled-in-bond Wheated and Four Grain Bourbons.
Just months into distribution, Hard Truth’s Sweet Mash Bourbons have been critically and commercially well-received. In fact, Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bourbon won Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Wheated Bourbon won Double Platinum at the American Spirits Council of Tasters.
Hard Truth’s spirits are currently distributed in more than 20 states, and the distillery has partnered with ReserveBar for online sales in more than 40 states.
For more information on Hard Truth, visit hardtruth.com.
