Hard Truth Distillery

Since 2015, the entirety of Hard Truth’s distilling equipment has mostly occupied a space about the size of your garage, stuffed into a cluttery nook over a Big Woods restaurant on Nashville’s main drag. But early this fall, the main distillery will relocate down the road to a space that’s “significantly bigger.”

Situated on 325 acres of Brown County landscape, their new home, Hard Truth Hills, is big. Really big, with 27-foot-tall columns and enough power to turn out 400 gallons in an eight-hour shift. The new location will also offer tours, a Big Woods restaurant with what must be one of Brown County’s most sweeping porches, and a welcome center/tasting room.

The welcome center is helmed by Taylor Jacks, a DePauw-educated classical saxophone major who worked in Indiana and Arizona politics before burning out and landing at a Southern Indiana craft distillery. At launch, Jacks will start hosting “Get Lost” ATV tours around the property, guided tastings that happen “while you’re basically on a backwoods roller coaster,” he says. Until then, you’ll find him serving up Hard Truth’s signature cinnamon vodka, which he says is more like an “herbal liqueur” that’s been boozed up to a decent proofing. It features prominently in cocktails like the Crimson Sour (made from the cinnamon vodka and a spiced pear liqueur) and the GINdiana Mule.

The spirits arm of the company that includes Quaff On! Brewing Company and Big Woods Restaurants group, Hard Truth is already part of the biggest employer in Brown County. They’ve also made a bit of local history: Tequila must originate from Mexico, but Hard Truth began producing Indiana’s first agave spirit in November 2017.

418 Old State Rd. 46, Nashville, 812-720-4840, hardtruthhills.com