The other day, I received three bottles of Hard Truth Rye whiskeys from my friends at Hard Truth Distillery in Brown County, Indiana. They are all sweet mash whiskeys and two of them are finished whiskeys – one of them is a double oaked rye, and the other is finished in Cognac, Sauternes, PX Sherry and PX Brandy barrels. The third bottle is a blend of their mash bills 3, 4, and 6. Matt and I sat down and tasted these whiskeys recently and here are our tasting notes.
Hard Truth 2024 blend of Mash Bills 3, 4, and 6
Proof: 115
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, coffee, citrus, baking spices, and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, prunes, pipe tobacco and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, milk chocolate, orange zest, ginger, cardamom and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the chocolate comes forward with a little cinnamon spice. Tasted with a pecan and the chocolate becomes a dark chocolate and coffee.
- Matt: Caramel, ginger, tobacco and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the caramel. The pecan gave it an oily mouth-feel.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, spice and lingering orange zest. The dried cranberry added chocolate and cinnamon to the finish. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, chocolate and coffee.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and tobacco. The dried cranberry added some lingering caramel. The pecan made the finish long with lots of tobacco.
Hard Truth Double Oaked Rye
Proof: 106.9
Age: Five Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, apricots, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, raisins, peanut butter and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, butterscotch, apricots, cardamom and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out notes of sour cherries and white pepper. The pecan brought out notes of chocolate and black pepper.
- Matt: Caramel, lemons, peanut butter, cardamom and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the lemon. The pecan enhanced the caramel and peanut butter.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, cardamom spice and lingering butterscotch. The dried cranberry added white pepper to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak and black pepper.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and cardamom. The cranberry added lemon zest to the finish. The pecan added peanut butter to the finish.
Hard Truth Barrel Finish Reserve
Proof: 116.8
Age: Three Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, raisins, grapes, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, grapes, spearmint and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the vanilla and cinnamon. The pecan brought out a rich caramel.
- Matt: Vanilla, cotton candy, grapes, and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the grape flavor. The pecan added spearmint to the flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood and spice. The dried cranberry added cinnamon to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with lingering caramel.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and spearmint. The dried cranberry made the finish strong with oak wood. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood and spearmint.
I would pair these rye whiskeys with a cigar that has lots of vanilla and tobacco in the smoke. I would reach for a Drew Estate Undercrown Maduro cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller