Hard Truth Distilling Co. was born in a small town. Its grains were grown, mashed and distilled in this small town. And its barrels (well one of them) were aged in the world’s smallest rackhouse and that’s good enough for me.
Hard Truth Distilling Co. in Nashville, Brown County, Indiana, is home to the ‘world’s smallest floating rackhouse.’ This bonded rackhouse holds a total of one whiskey barrel and it’s been holding the same barrel for three years. That barrel has been floating on the pond, exposed to all that mother nature could deliver from hot summer days to brisk sub-zero nights for all that time. And now, this one of kind single barrel has been pulled from the pond and dumped with its first 100 bottles to be auctioned off with 100% of sales going to Farm Aid in support of sustainable family farming in America.
“For more than three years, hundreds of thousands of visitors have seen and asked about the mysterious lone barrel floating on the pond at our distillery,” said Bryan Smith, Hard Truth Master Distiller.
Watch the video to see the world’s smallest floating rackhouse.
Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey
“Even though it holds just one barrel, it is, indeed, a federally bonded and registered whiskey rackhouse,” Smith explained. “We filed the same paperwork and adhered to the same regulations as we have for our other on-site rackhouses that, in total, can hold more than 23,000 barrels.”
Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey Single Barrel
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As for the whiskey inside that floating single barrel, Smith says, “Due to the unique nature of this aging environment, the interaction between our sweet mash whiskeys and their surroundings help to connect the natural world with something you can actually taste, and it is delicious. This was a perfect opportunity to support family farmers through Farm Aid.”
Most of the 750 mL bottles of Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey bottles will be given to bourbon societies and Hard Truth partners to be auctioned off among their members, with 100 percent of the sale price going directly to Farm Aid. Each auction bottle will be encased in a commemorative Farm Aid box. Any remaining bottles, without the commemorative box, will be made available at a later date as a top-shelf purchase at the distillery.
Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey Tasting Notes
The whiskey was crafted with Hard Truth’s RW-1 mash bill, which features 94 percent rye and 6 percent malted barley, and was bottled at 107.5 proof (53.75% ABV).
Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey offers an aroma with coffee, peanut brittle, and bold baking spice. On the palate, it features notes of rich cherry syrup, brown sugar, and rye spice that lead to orange zest and custard. The finish blooms with dark sweet cherry and subtle mocha that give way to cracked black pepper, leather, and oak.
Smith said the idea of putting a precious barrel of sweet mash rye whiskey on the pond was part experiment, part guest attraction.
“We knew that by leaving this barrel to benefit from the movement from the waves of the pond and the unique temperature and humidity shifts from mother nature season after season, we would create a totally unique flavor profile in the resulting whiskey.”
“The parallels between this project and how our farmers work with the natural environments to create great grains, make this the perfect whiskey to be part of our Grounded in Truth campaign, which supports family farmers.”
Beginning immediately and running until September 8th, auctions are taking place in both public and private bourbon clubs in states from Indiana to Florida and beyond. Some of the participating groups include Indiana Bourbon, St Louis Bourbon Society, The Chicago Bourbon Club, Southwest Florida Bourbon Society, and Lexington Bourbon Society, as well as influencers like My Bourbon Journey.
Hard Truth’s Partnership with Farm Aid
Hard Truth launched its cause platform called Grounded in Truth to celebrate and show its appreciation for the small, independent, and heritage farmers who provide the carefully cultivated, quality grains that lay the foundation for Hard Truth’s spirits.
Under its Grounded in Truth banner, the distillery is supporting agriculturally focused not-for-profit organizations, including Farm Aid, which provide crucial resources and support for family farmers.
According to Smith, “When it comes to supporting family farmers, our values are well aligned with Farm Aid, making them the perfect partners for this charitable effort.”
The agricultural community provides the backbone for the distilling industry, and the vast majority of the grains that Hard Truth uses in its craft spirits come from local Indiana and Midwest farms.
Grounded in Truth expands on Hard Truth’s commitment to small, independent, and heritage farmers through creative partnerships with agriculturally focused, not-for-profit organizations that provide valuable resources and support for family farmers — like Farm Aid, Grounded in Truth’s first giving partner.
“We love the creative way Hard Truth is generating contributions for our work,” said Glenda Yoder of Farm Aid. “We, too, believe the values and missions of Hard Truth and Farm Aid are well aligned and we’re grateful they made Farm Aid the recipient of sales from the floating barrel whiskey.”
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp (who was born in a small town and collaborates with Hard Truth on ‘Mellencamp Whiskey Company’), Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised nearly $80 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
Hard Truth Distilling Co. is an industry leader in the production of sweet mash whiskey, and, in 2024, was named the Indiana Distillery of the Year by the NY International Spirits Competition. In addition to its critically acclaimed line of sweet mash bourbons and rye whiskeys, the Nashville, Indiana-based Hard Truth also crafts a selection of premium craft spirits, including top-selling Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum, Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum Cream, Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka, and Hard Truth Maple Bourbon Cream.
Hard Truth’s spirits are currently distributed in more than 20 states, and the distillery has partnered with ReserveBar for online sales in more than 40 states.
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