Source: WISH-TV / other
NASHVILLE, Ind. — Hard Truth Distilling Company is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable brands of hard liquor not just in Indiana, but the whole country.
Owners and operators of the distillery in Nashville say that’s quite apparent because of rising demand for their whiskey, which is why they were joined by Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday for the ribbon cutting of a brand-new aging house and storage facility.
“What this does for us is it gives us the ability to bring Hard Truth spirits and our whiskey to the rest of the country,” said Bryan Smith, a master distiller at Hard Truth to Inside Indiana Business. “Whiskey, you know, it has to have a place to age and it needs four to eight years to age.”
Smith said that this new aging and storage house would allow the Hard Truth to expand its output by around 800 percent in order to meet rapidly rising demand. On top of that they are also building a second rack house that will be ready to store even more whiskey by next year.
Once both are operational, Hard Truth can store from 4,000 barrels to 12,000 barrels of sweet mash whiskey.
Smith said that extra capacity will allow them to further capitalize on big markets they are already in like Texas, which he said is a huge market, as well as expand into new ones.
For the state, Gov. Holcomb said expansions like this give Indiana a new kind of niche to help attract people to move to Indiana.
“It’s a powerful magnate and destination it’s turning out to be where it’s not only drawing people from around the state, but people are crossing the border to come into places like Hard Truth,” Holcomb said.
He added that Hard Truth is a big part now of the “quality of place” discussion that he is pushing to create a better atmosphere for people to “enjoy life” in Indiana.
Hard Truth boasts its whiskey but also its Big Woods brand of restaurants in Nashville, Speedway, and Carmel, along with its giant 325-acre tree fill campus for live entertainment, food, drinks, and outdoor activities in Nashville.