There are distilleries that rush their product to market, and then there are places like Hard Truth Distilling Co. out of Nashville, Indiana. The difference shows up in the glass.
On February 28, Hard Truth dropped three new limited releases that have been a long time coming — and that phrase actually means something here. Each of the three new expressions has been aging for seven full years, making them the oldest whiskeys the distillery has ever released. For a craft operation that built its name on grain-to-glass production, this is the kind of moment people have been waiting for since the doors opened back in 2015.
The three whiskeys are the 7-Year Hard Truth Straight Bourbon, the 7-Year Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye, and the 7-Year Hard Truth Wheated Bourbon. All three were made entirely at Hard Truth's Indiana campus, and all three carry something that most whiskeys on the shelf simply cannot claim — a true age statement backed by a commitment to doing things the hard way.
Bryan Smith, master distiller and partner at Hard Truth, put it plainly. "If you've been following our story here at Hard Truth, you will understand how important a seven year age statement is for an authentic grain-to-glass whiskey maker." He went on to say that while their sweet mash process produces good whiskey at younger ages, seven years in Indiana's climate changes everything. "After seven winters and summers, these whiskeys have been transformed into something truly special."
That word — transformed — is worth sitting with for a moment. Indiana weather is not gentle. The summers push heat into those barrels, expanding the wood and driving the spirit deep into the oak. The winters pull it back. Repeat that cycle seven times over, and what comes out is a fundamentally different whiskey than what went in.
What also sets Hard Truth apart from most of what lines the shelves is their dedication to the sweet mash process. Most American whiskeys are made using sour mash, a method that carries over a portion of the previous batch into the next fermentation. It works, and there is nothing wrong with it, but it does have a homogenizing effect on flavor. Hard Truth starts every single batch fresh, using all new ingredients each time. The result is a whiskey that holds onto subtle grain character that often gets buried in the sour mash approach. Over seven years, those subtle notes have had time to develop into something much more layered and complex.
The Straight Bourbon opens with a color described as tawny, and on the nose it brings buttered toffee, vanilla, cherry, mocha, and a touch of rye spice. On the palate, it delivers dark cherries with honey, toffee, and vanilla custard. The finish is warm, with candied pecan, oak, clove, and bold rye spice lingering well after the glass is set down. This is a bourbon that rewards patience — both the patience of the distillery in waiting seven years to release it, and the patience of the drinker to slow down and work through its layers.
The Sweet Mash Rye has an auburn color and a nose that brings maple, golden raisin, plum, vanilla, and fennel together in a way that sounds unusual on paper but apparently works remarkably well. The palate moves through candied fruit and rye spice before settling into maple, cracked black pepper, and oak. The finish stays warm and inviting, with brûléed sugar and cherry syrup giving way to vanilla, fennel, and oak. For rye drinkers who have grown tired of one-dimensional spice bombs, this expression sounds like a genuine departure.
The Wheated Bourbon is the one with the most dessert-forward profile of the three. The color is burnt amber, and the nose is described as decadent, leading with nougat, dark chocolate, toasted almond, and vanilla. On the palate it delivers warm pecan pie with a hint of milk chocolate that fades into sweet cream and clove. The finish is long and soothing, closing out with candied fruit and cracked black pepper. Wheated bourbons have gained a devoted following in recent years, largely because the wheat in the mash bill softens the spirit and rounds out what might otherwise be sharp edges. Seven years of aging takes that softness and deepens it considerably.
The releases debuted exclusively at Hard Truth's distillery in Nashville, Indiana on February 28, with a limited allocation heading to select retailers in the weeks that followed. Hard Truth also held special events at the distillery that day, open to anyone who wanted to come out and be part of the milestone. Given how few barrels were selected for this release — drawn specifically from the barrels that showed the most character and balance — availability is not going to last long once it hits the retail market.
This is not Hard Truth's first time earning serious recognition. Their Sweet Mash Rye, which debuted in 2021 as the distillery's first grain-to-glass rye release, landed on Fred Minnick's Top 50 American Whiskeys list. Their Straight Bourbon, which came to market in 2024, was named by Robb Report as one of the 50 Greatest Bourbons of the 21st Century. The distillery itself was named the number one destination distillery in the United States by Distillery Trail in 2022. These are not participation trophies. They are the kind of recognitions that get handed out to operations doing something genuinely worth paying attention to.
Hard Truth products are now distributed across more than 20 states, with online availability through ReserveBar reaching more than 40 states. The distillery has grown considerably since its founding, and its portfolio has expanded to include Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum and Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka alongside its whiskey lineup. But whiskey has always been the backbone of what they do, and the seven-year releases represent the clearest statement yet of where that backbone leads.
For anyone who has followed craft distilling over the past decade, this release signals something important. The early wave of American craft distillers were forced to release young whiskey because they had no choice — they needed revenue while they waited for older stocks to mature. Some of those young whiskeys were good. Many were not. The ones that survived and kept their heads down, kept filling barrels, and kept improving their process are now starting to show what happens when the waiting is finally over. Hard Truth is one of those distilleries.
Seven years is not forever in the whiskey world, but for a craft operation that built everything from scratch on its own Indiana campus, it represents a genuine commitment to quality over convenience. The three expressions now carrying that age statement are the proof.
