Hard Truth began in 2015 as a small distillery in the upper rooms of a pizza restaurant in Nashville, Indiana.1,2,3 Its Hard Truth Hills complex opened in July 2018 on 325 wooded acres just east of the town, and distilling was due to move there that fall.3,4,5 The whiskey it distils is sweet mash, where each batch starts fresh rather than reusing old mash, from Rush County corn and wheat and Evansville rye.2,6,7
Hard Truth was started by Jeff McCabe and his partners, who also own the Big Woods restaurants and Quaff ON! Brewing Co.4 They began making small test batches after Indiana legalized craft distilling in 2014, and McCabe said they spent almost two years developing recipes and testing.
Its centerpiece is a column still custom-built by Vendome Copper & Brass Works in Louisville, and its first rack house held 4,000 barrels.3,4,5 In July 2022 Hard Truth announced three new 5,000-gallon fermenters, adding to its 2,500-gallon ones, and a move to 24/7 production.7,8,9
On 28 June 2023 a second rack house opened, a 15,000-square-foot barn that raised storage from 4,000 to 12,000 barrels.2,6,7 It has no heating or cooling system and plays on Indiana's changing climate to age the whiskey.2 McCabe said the hot and cold lets the whiskey seep in and out of the barrel's wood to develop its flavor.2 In April 2024 work began on a third, planned to hold 8,000 barrels and bring storage on the site to more than 20,000.10,11 Bryan Smith said new products, sales and new markets moved the build ahead of schedule.10,11
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