Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey, a single barrel expression from Hard Truth Distilling Co. aged in the “world’s smallest floating rackhouse,” will be bottled and auctioned off with 100% of sales going to Farm Aid in support of sustainable family farming in America.

“For more than three years, hundreds of thousands of visitors have seen and asked about the mysterious lone barrel floating on the pond at our distillery,” Bryan Smith, Hard Truth Master Distiller, said in a news release.

“Even though it holds just one barrel, it is, indeed, a federally bonded and registered whiskey rackhouse,” Smith explained. “We filed the same paperwork and adhered to the same regulations as we have for our other on-site rackhouses that, in total, can hold more than 23,000 barrels.”

As for the whiskey inside that floating single barrel, Smith said, “Due to the unique nature of this aging environment, the interaction between our sweet mash whiskeys and their surroundings help to connect the natural world with something you can actually taste, and it is delicious. This was a perfect opportunity to support family farmers through Farm Aid.”

The floating barrel will produce approximately one hundred 750 mL bottles of Grounded in Truth Straight Rye Whiskey. The majority of those bottles will be given to bourbon societies and Hard Truth partners to be auctioned off among their members, with 100 percent of the sale price going directly to Farm Aid.

Each auction bottle will be encased in a commemorative Farm Aid box. Any remaining bottles, without the commemorative box, will be made available at a later date as a top-shelf purchase at Hard Truth’s distillery in Nashville, Indiana.

The whiskey was crafted with Hard Truth’s RW-1 mash bill, which features 94 percent rye and 6 percent malted barley, and was bottled at 53.75 percent ABV (107.5 proof).

Smith said the idea of putting a barrel of sweet mash rye whiskey on the pond was part experiment, part guest attraction.

“We knew that by leaving this barrel to benefit from the movement from the waves of the pond and the unique temperature and humidity shifts from mother nature season after season, we would create a totally unique flavor profile in the resulting whiskey,” he said.

“The parallels between this project and how our farmers work with the natural environments to create great grains, make this the perfect whiskey to be part of our Grounded in Truth campaign, which supports family farmers.”

Beginning immediately and running until Sept. 8, auctions are taking place in both public and private bourbon clubs in states from Indiana to Florida and beyond. Some of the participating groups include Indiana Bourbon, St Louis Bourbon Society, The Chicago Bourbon Club, Southwest Florida Bourbon Society, and Lexington Bourbon Society, as well as influencers like My Bourbon Journey. 

A partial list of auction locations will be shared, along with more details, at this publicly shareable link: https://hardtruth.com/grounded-in-truth/.

Read more: Hard Truth Breaks Ground – Ahead of Schedule

About Hard Truth Distilling

Hard Truth Distilling Co. is an industry leader in the production of sweet mash whiskey, and, in 2024, was named the Indiana Distillery of the Year by the NY International Spirits Competition. Hard Truth’s spirits are currently distributed in more than 20 states, and the distillery has partnered with ReserveBar for online sales in more than 40 states.

For more information on Hard Truth, visit hardtruth.com.