Weekend Getaway - Hard Truth Hills

It has been a while since I took a little weekend trip so before the holidays, I made sure we planned one prior to all the craziness of this busy season. Taylor and I had the chance to visit Hard Truth Hills in Nashville, Indiana recently and had a relaxing but exciting and memorable trip. I’m sure all Hoosiers know how beautiful Brown County is this time of year, and nestled in the woods is Hard Truth Hills where Hard Truth Spirits have their distillery, Quaff On beer is brewed, and great food is had at Big Woods Restaurant. This was the perfect way to prep for the holidays and spend a much needed day date together and it was only an hour away from Indianapolis!

We started out doing a gin mixology class in the Welcome Center. There are also classes on rum and vodka, but y’all know gin is my absolute favorite! I usually just order a gin and tonic when I’m out on the weekend but I didn’t realize how many options us gin lovers have when it comes to our favorite spirit. We started out learning about the French 75, and our mixologist David delved into all the history behind the cocktail and how it came to be. I loved how informed and knowledgeable David was and he had us cracking up the entire trip, I would definitely suggest asking for him to do your class and tour when you visit. He also made us a Thai Coconut Curry gimlet which BLEW my mind!! It tasted like Thai food in the best way and I definitely took a ton of mental notes so I can make it at home soon. We ended our mixology class making a cocktail called The Last Word, which used cherry liqueur, chartreuse, and gin. I loved learning all about the tools that go into the craft of mixology and how even the cups, spoons, and techniques you use can all affect the drink in numerous ways.

From there, we did the Delayed Gratification tour of the Hard Truth distillery, learning about the history of Hard Truth and Big Woods, as well as Brown County and the history of brewing and distilling. If you’ve ever been to the Big Woods location in Speedway, you might be surprised to know the diameter of the bar is meant to be an exact ratio of the size of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! It was so fun learning all these facts, sometimes we take regular activities and beverages for granted so learning that the processes used to make spirits and brews have been done for thousands of years was really eye-opening. We also learned about the different kinds of char a barrel can have and how that and age can really affect the taste of bourbon. The visuals of the ingredients for different kinds of spirits was super neat to see and was a great reminder for how much work and craft goes into making these kinds of drinks. We ended up sampling (and taking home) some interesting flavors like toasted coconut rum and cinnamon vodka so I’m looking forward to experimenting with some holiday inspired cocktails this Christmas.

We finished out our tour and made our way over to the Big Woods Restaurant because after all those drinks, we definitely needed some food in our stomachs before making the trip home. Service was so quick and sweet and we were excited to get some yummy food (and maybe another drink). We shared a pulled pork nacho appetizer that I think convinced me that I now love barbecue sauce so that was pretty major. I ended up getting a flight of Quaff On beers like Hoosier Red, 6 Foot Blonde, Busted Knuckle, and Santa Quaff. I loooove 6 Foot Blonde (maybe because it almost describes me) and these went perfect with the za’atan and honey wings I ordered. Taylor got the grilled chicken and asparagus sandwich with pub fries and completely devoured it. We didn’t have room for dessert but they do have a bag of donuts. Yes. A BAG of donuts. Very intriguing, so we will have to go back for certain.

Overall, our trip was so much fun and definitely up our alley, we loved learning about all different kinds of spirits and brews and enjoying our time together. These weekend getaways are so important for our relationship and sanity during this busy time of year so I’m very happy that we got to spend some time at Hard Truth Hills. Our new bar cart is officially stocked up, so what cocktails do you think I should I made this holiday season??