Cinnamon stick | Slight star anise | Cinnamon toast | Baking spices | Faint dried apples | Light youthful oak | Dab of ethanol

Bold sweet cinnamon spice | Dry oak | Intertwined rye spice | Cinnamon bomb

Huge cinnamon spice | Cinnamon stick | Dry oak | Rye spice | Leather | Quickly fades

Located in Nashville, Indiana, Hard Truth Distilling Co. offers a broad range of spirits, from rum to in-house distilled whiskeys. Malted Rye Rye Batch 002 is a five barrel batch that was distilled from 54% rye and 46% malted rye that was dumped on September 13, 2023.

While Batch 001 featured more fruit notes in addition to spicy undertones, Batch 002 rides a spice train from start to finish. Opening with strong scents of cinnamon stick, baking spices, and cinnamon toast, there is no denying that this rye is barrel proof. The midpoint continues the spice train to a fault, as bold sweet cinnamon spice just dominates through and through with other notes that are present but have a hard time trying to push through. Ending on a similar vein, the finish is full of cinnamon and rye spice, with cinnamon stick and dry oak adding counterbalance, although overall, it’s a quick finish. Compared to Batch 001, Batch 002 comes off as more one-dimensional, which might be due to the fact that the number of barrels used was only five, compared to the 10 used in the creation of Batch 001. It’s nice to see another option for Indiana-produced rye in the marketplace, even if this latest batch leans heavily into a more concentrated flavor spectrum. It won’t be for everyone, but if you like cinnamon, you’ll want to check out this rye.