Classification: Straight Rye
Company: Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Distillery: Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Release Date: October 2024
Proof: 104
Age: 3 Years
Mashbill: 72% Rye, 28% Corn
Color: Auburn
MSRP: $70 / 750mL (2025)
Pine | Molasses | Maple | French oak | Brown sugar
Crème brulée | Toasted French oak | Creamy mouthfeel
Cinnamon | Leather | Rye spice | Toasted oak | Lingering pepper
Hard Truth continues to push rye in interesting directions, and their latest collaboration with Mellencamp Whiskey Company focuses on rye’s baking-related flavors thanks to its toasted French oak finish.
Hard Truth French Oak Harvest Rye is the third in a series of four whiskeys in collaboration with Mellencamp Whiskey Company, which was founded by singer-songwriter John Melloncamp’s son, Hud Mellencamp, along with Levi Collison. According to Hard Truth’s website, the Melloncamps and Collison are from Indiana and have a strong relationship with Hard Truth Distilling, and as a result, have “come together to celebrate their shared Indiana heritage.” Hard Truth French Oak Harvest Rye uses 100% Indiana grains, and a portion of sales goes to support sustainable farming initiatives and farming families.
The second edition in this limited series was a blend of bourbon and rye finished in toasted Amburana barrels. This third edition keeps things a little more straightforward. Though they created a new mashbill for this release, they finished it in toasted French oak. While resting rye in French oak isn’t new, it is far less common than bourbon. The result is a rye that isn’t overly complex, but does well to focus on the flavors it does offer.
Utilizing a rye that features ample baking notes combined with a toasted French oak finish, it ends up pairing well together. This brings out rich scents of molasses, maple, and brown sugar on the nose, along with creamy crème brulée on the palate, and finally, cinnamon and various spices on the finish. It features many flavors you know of rye, but the toasted French oak helps amplify them to an even higher degree.
Overall, the proof keeps things manageable, but perhaps too much so. It tasted a bit more muted than I prefer, and while this works for so many Hard Truth releases in correspondence to the whiskey’s age, here, it comes across as needing a bit more oomph.