I have two bottles from Hard Truth Distilling Co. sitting on my shelf: Sweet Mash Wheated Bottled in Bond and Sweet Mash Four Grain Bottled in Bond. Based on the liquid levels in both bottles, I have clearly enjoyed them. I just somehow haven’t talked about them here.
Hard Truth is based in Brown County, Indiana, in Nashville, Indiana, and has built a reputation as one of the more interesting newer names in American whiskey. The distillery describes itself as grain-to-glass, with its Sweet Mash whiskeys made from fresh ingredients for every batch rather than using the more common sour mash process. Its bourbon program has also leaned hard into local Indiana grains, custom barrels, small batches and bottled-in-bond credibility. In other words, this isn’t just some pretty bottle trying to look rustic on a shelf. There’s legitimate whiskey work going on here.
And yes, the bottles do look cool. Those chunky, rustic corks feel like something you’d pull from a bottle in a backwoods lodge where the bartender also knows how to split firewood. Packaging doesn’t make whiskey taste better, but when the whiskey is good, the presentation sure doesn’t hurt.
Neither of these bottles qualifies as a Bourbon Cheapskate pick. The Four Grain runs around $70, while the Wheated lands closer to $63. That’s not bargain-bin territory, but it’s also not ridiculous in today’s bourbon market. So if you’re looking at both and only want to bring one home, which one should it be?
The Hard Truth Sweet Mash Four Grain Bottled in Bond uses a mashbill of 78% corn, 9% rye, 9% wheat and 4% malted barley. In the glass, it shows a light copper appearance. The aroma is rustic, with less sweetness and more earth. I almost pick up fresh-cut grass.
That nose carries over into the palate, where the earthy flavors lead into a strong cinnamon backbone with touches of oak. The mouthfeel borders on creamy, and that earthy tone follows into a decent, though not amazing, finish where the cinnamon hangs on nicely.
Score: 82.03
The Hard Truth Sweet Mash Wheated Bottled in Bond uses a mashbill of 69% corn, 19% wheat and 12% malted barley. This one pours darker, somewhere near borderline mahogany. I still get some of those earthy Hard Truth notes, but there are also doses of caramel, cinnamon and oak.
On the palate, the grassy notes sit just under the surface, but the Wheated brings more sweetness and more fruit. I get something like baked tree fruit, along with cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. The mouthfeel is lightly creamy, and the sweetness finally shows up more clearly on the finish, which lingers with some latent cinnamon.
Score: 84.63
The bottom line?
Neither one of these is going to disappoint you. The Four Grain is interesting, earthy, rustic and enjoyable. But if I’m looking for the better pour and the better bang for the buck, the Wheated is my winner. It costs a few bucks less and gives me more flavor to work with.
I’m happy to have both on my shelf, but if I’m replacing one of them once these bottles are emptied, I’ll be going back to the Hard Truth Sweet Mash Wheated Bottled in Bond.
