Nashville, Ind. (August 15, 2023) –Hard Truth Distilling Co., an award-winning whiskey distillery located in Brown County, Indiana, today announced a new Sweet Mash Rye whiskey project in collaboration with Mellencamp Whiskey Company.

The new partnership will include a four-part, limited collectors series of Hard Truth’s award-winning Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey to be released in the spring and fall. The first release called Harvest Sweet Mash Rye will be officially launched at the Hard Truth Distillery on September 9 during a special kick off event. Harvest Sweet Mash Rye will then be on sale immediately at the distillery and subsequently rolled out nationally to select retailers around the country from September through December.

Each release will feature a unique whiskey expression handselected and married by Hard Truth’s Master Distiller Bryan Smith, with HudMellencamp and Levi Collison from the Mellencamp Whiskey Co. Each bottle in the collectors series will feature original artwork by JohnMellencamp.

Harvest Sweet Mash Rye will feature a new, yet to be released mash bill from Hard Truth utilizing 100% grains grown by the distiller’s farmer partners, all located within the state of Indiana, not far from their Brown County distillery grounds.

“By supporting and collaborating closely with our local farmers we are able to offer the highest quality and hyper-regional flavor profile in our whiskeys,” said Smith. “It is our farmer’s dedication to sustainable farming that inspired us to create our new ‘Grounded in Truth’ campaign that provides funding to educate others on how togrow the highest quality grains, while at the same time being good stewards of the land.”

The partnership of Hard Truth and Mellencamp Whiskey just made too much sense not to happen. It was clear from their earliest discussions that they shared the same small-town roots, a fierce determination to make high-quality spirits, a longtime support of Indiana farmers, and a love of their hometowns.

Mellencamp Whiskey Company – “Sticking to their Hoosier roots"

‍Hud Mellencamp and Levi Collison both share a love for whiskey and a passion for their home state and the people there who grow grains and craft whiskey from America’s heartland. Hard Truth’s Smith, as they all learned later, lived less than a mile from Hud and Levi in the same smalltown of Bloomington.

“Our partnership with Hard Truth aligns perfectly with our values of supporting local farmers and sourcing high-quality local ingredients,” says Hud. “We are excited to begin our journey as an emerging whiskey brand partnering with such an innovative, like-minded whiskey partner right in our own backyard. When we started Mellencamp Whiskey, we knew we wanted to stick to our Hoosier roots.”

Grounded in Truth / Farm Aid

This year, Hard Truth formally launched its cause platform called Grounded in Truth – created to celebrate and show our 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 will be supporting agriculturally focused not-for-profit organizations, including Farm Aid, which provide valuable resources for and support for family farmers.

About Hard Truth Distilling Co.

Headquartered in Nashville, Indiana, Hard Truth Distilling Co. produces more than 20 premium spirits, including the critically acclaimed Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey and top-selling Hard Truth Cinnamon Vodka, Hard Truth Maple Bourbon Cream, Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum, and Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum Cream.

Hard Truth Distilling Co. is an industry leader in the production of sweet mash rye whiskies. In addition to Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey, they recently released Hard Truth Master Distiller’s Reserve Collection – a limited time only bottling of three rye whiskey mash bills that embody Hard Truth’s dedication to bringing flavor innovation to the sweet mash rye whiskey world. 

Hard Truth’s spirits are distributed in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Washington, D.C. and The Bahamas.

Hard Truth Distilling Co.’s destination campus spans 325 wooded acres in Brown County, Indiana — an artists’ colony and tourist destination with the largest state park in Indiana. Founded in 2015, Hard Truth quickly outgrew its original production facility, and by 2017 construction had begun on its current facility, a distillery housed in a 50,000-square foot building equipped with a state-of-the-art Vendome Copper & Brass distilling system. Their second rackhouse, twice the size of their first rackhouse, was completed in June 2023.

It tripled storage capacity from 4,000 to 12,000 barrels of their sweet mash whiskies.

Visit hardtruth.com for the complete Hard Truth experience.

About Farm Aid

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, 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 more than $70 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.