fifth partner, also created the company’ s sensation, Sweet Mash Rye whiskey.
Hard Truth now boasts a robust portfolio of spirits, including whiskey, gin, rum, and vodka. The distillery’ s expertly crafted bourbon and rye whiskeys also have gained acclaim from industry professionals and connoisseurs alike. McCabe said Quaff ON!’ s Six Foot Strawberry Blonde is the number one blonde in the state, the company won best porter in the country last year, and the Sweet Mash Rye whiskey has solidly secured its spot on critics’ top 100 American whiskeys lists annually.
Eight Big Woods restaurants currently serve customers in Speedway, Indianapolis, Franklin, Noblesville, and Bloomington. Partnership with Simon Malls allowed the company to operate at Edinburgh Premium Outlets and Keystone Fashion Mall.
But the company’ s flagship location remains where the magic began: Nashville. The Hard Truth Distilling Co. destination campus was created to be like“ Disneyland for adults,” McCabe said. The property houses the largest artisan distillery in the state but also provides guests with a full-service restaurant, tours-and-tastings center, and outdoor amphitheater. Guests ages 21 and older can tour the distillery, experience a guided tasting, or hop on guided ATV or tiki boat tours to learn the history of distilling.
The Nashville complex employs a crew of more than 200 and draws about 400,000 visitors each year. McCabe said the company is expecting the visitor count to rise in 2025.
“ I think if we’ ve done anything, it’ s showing that tourism doesn’ t have to be seasonal and that service jobs don’ t have to be low-paying,” he said.“ We feel good that we’ ve been part of that.”
McCabe also feels good that the company uses as much Indianagrown grains as possible and has built a sustainable enterprise that’ s supporting Hoosier families and farms.
Despite the overwhelming success, the company’ s sights remain fixed on the future: distribution in all 50 states. As the company prepares to scale itself to that level, the coming year will bring new tour offerings and the construction of another building at the Nashville campus to house resting spirits. A brand new barbecue-and-whiskey experience featuring nationallyacclaimed barbecue expert Steven Raichlen also is in the works.
“ At the end of the day, we are very proud of what we’ ve been able to do together, and we like the idea that this can last longer than we do,” McCabe said.“ We’ re trying to build something that can have a life of its own and continue to be an economic engine long into the future.”
Hard Truth Distilling Co. is located at 418 Old State Rd 46, Nashville. For more, hardtruth. com. •
Jan./ Feb. 2025 • Our Brown County 19