Review: Hard Truth Maple Brulee Rye
In February 2024, I spent a day with Head Alchemist Alan Bishop at Spirits of French Lick in southern Indiana. Among the many bits of wisdom imparted to me by Bishop was the fact that it’s extremely beneficial for craft distilleries to be paired with a tourist destination. While Bishop departed from Spirits of French Lick not long after, his insights stick with me. Driving roughly 90 minutes north from French Lick is another Indiana distillery paired with a tourist destination, Hard Truth Distilling. Hard Truth makes its home in Nashville, Indiana, but is better known as Brown County, Indiana. The tiny community revolves around Brown County State Park and loads of shopping, making for the perfect getaway. Hard Truth has started to gain a solid national reputation for rye whiskey, but it also helps that the tiny town with a population of less than 1,500 residents sees an annual excess of 1.2 million tourists.
Fall of 2024 brings Hard Truth’s newest limited release, Hard Truth Barrel Finish Reserve Maple Brûlée Sweet Mash Straight Rye. Master Distiller Bryan Smith crafts this limited release from a unique mashbill consisting of 69% rye, 20% corn, and 11% malted barley. This sweet mash rye initially spends over 3 years maturing in a new oak barrel with a char level #1 and custom toast, much like current age statements for standard Hard Truth releases. Smith then transfers the rye to maple brûlée casks for an additional maturation in excess of one year. The American whiskey market is currently saturated with a plethora of finishing casks, but maple brûlée is a relatively new finishing option to surface. These casks come from Tonnellerie Moreau in Quebec. The Canadian cooperage chars the casks a second time after aging bourbon in them for 7 to 9 years and then maple syrup from Bissell Maple Farm in Jefferson, Ohio, for another year. Adding to the creativity, Hard Truth briefly rests the maple brûlée rye on toasted Jupilles French oak prior to bottling. Jupilles French oak hails from the ancient forest of Bercé in western France.
Finishing with maple brûlée casks isn’t common, but should it become so? Let’s take a hard look at this rye and discover the truth.
The nose opens with an assortment of sweet notes that manage to avoid becoming cloying. Brandied cherries waft upwards and are immediately met by burnt brown sugar. Sitting for a few moments, vanilla Tootsie Rolls join burnt honey to complete the nosing experience. The maple brûlée cask is immediately noticeable on the palate by way of Maple Nut Goodies candy. Rich caramel makes an appearance as the midpalate gently transitions to vanilla custard and star anise. The mouthfeel is extremely dense as the rye coats and clings to the palate. On the finish, we start with buttered toffee and smoky molasses, and as Maple Brûlée heads down the homestretch, vanilla creme wafer cookies and cherry soda linger.
The truth isn’t hard. The easy reality is that Master Distiller Bryan Smith put together a fantastic rye whiskey as part of the 2024 limited release series. One of the criticisms of finishing whiskey in maple syrup casks is the cloying nature of syrup often transfers to the whiskey, which is perfectly understandable. Applying a second charring to those maple syrup casks does a lot to remedy this complication while imparting some new character. Consumers will certainly want to seek out this limited release.
101.3 proof.
A- / $90
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