Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bottled in Bond Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey
50% ABV (100 proof) | 750mL | Bottled-in-bond (min. 4 years) | Four-grain sweet mash bourbon | Distilled & aged at Hard Truth Distilling Co., Nashville, Indiana — Hard Truth Sweet Mash Bottled in Bond is a grain-to-glass Indiana bourbon built on a four-grain mash bill: 78% corn, 9% wheat, 9% rye and 4% malted barley. Every fermentation starts fresh with no backset — a true sweet mash — and the whiskey is distilled and aged entirely on-site in Brown County, Indiana. Bottled-in-bond means one distilling season, one distillery, and a minimum of four years in new charred oak. Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.
Sweet mash is the older, riskier way to ferment bourbon — most distilleries use sour mash for consistency. Hard Truth bets the batch on freshness instead, and in a four-grain recipe the payoff shows: wheat softness and rye spice layered over a corn-sweet core. Among bourbons at 100 proof, this is one of the few bottled-in-bond four-grain sweet mash offerings on the shelf — a genuine distillery-direct Indiana whiskey, not sourced stock.
Tasting notes
Expect butterscotch, caramel and brown sugar over toasted cereal grain, with dark honey, red berries and cherry, vanilla and toffee. The rye (9%) brings cracked black pepper and baking spice mid-palate; the finish runs medium with oak, caramel, lingering cherry and bruléed sugar.
Why buy it from Del Mesa Liquor
- 100 proof (50% ABV) bottled-in-bond — minimum 4 years, one season, one distillery
- Four-grain mash bill: 78% corn, 9% wheat, 9% rye, 4% malted barley
- True sweet mash — no backset, every fermentation starts fresh
- Grain-to-glass: distilled and aged at Hard Truth Distilling Co., Nashville, Indiana
- Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor
How to serve it
Neat in a Glencairn to catch the full sweet-mash character, or over a large cube — 100 proof drinks with presence but the wheat keeps it smooth. Stands up in an Old Fashioned.
Frequently asked questions
What does "bottled-in-bond" mean?
It's a federal designation: the whiskey comes from one distilling season at one distillery, aged at least 4 years in a bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.
What is a four-grain bourbon?
A bourbon whose mash bill includes four grains instead of the usual three — here corn, wheat, rye and malted barley — giving it both wheat softness and rye spice.
What is sweet mash?
Fermentation started fresh each time with no backset (leftover mash) added — the older, less common method. Hard Truth ferments every batch sweet mash.
Is Hard Truth distilled in Indiana?
Yes — this whiskey is distilled and aged entirely at Hard Truth Distilling Co. in Nashville, Indiana, from Indiana-grown grains.