Hard Truth Distilling Company is located in Nashville, Indiana. They are making some excellent 100% rye whiskeys. This is a mash bill using malted rye. It has a two year old age statement but tastes older. I suspect that there is older whiskey in the bottle, but since they are using two year old whiskey in the bottle, that is the age statement. It is a small batch whiskey of ten barrels and bottled unfiltered at barrel proof. Matt and I sat down and tasted it and here are our tasting notes.
Hard Truth Master Distiller’s Reserve Malted Rye Mash Bill Rye Whiskey
Proof: 112.2
Age: Two Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, citrus – maybe tangerine, baking spices, oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, wild berries and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, citrus, tangerine or orange zest, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a cherry note comes out to join the party. Tasted with a pecan and a chocolate comes out and the spice becomes more of a cardamom.
- Matt: Vanilla latte coffee, oranges and oak wood. The dried cranberry brings out a cherry note. The pecan gives it a cocoa, buttered toffee and cherry flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and cinnamon spice. The dried cranberry added some lingering cherry flavor. The pecan made the finish very long with lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with tobacco, oak and lingering vanilla. The dried cranberry added some lingering cherry. The pecan added some lingering buttered toffee.
I would pair this fine Rye Whiskey with a Padron cigar. The vanilla and cedar spice of the smoke would pair well with the vanilla and spice of the whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller