Ballantine's Hard Fired

LCI. Stroef, erg roasty

Nose: not overly complex, mildly fragrant of lighter crisp fruits, orchard fruits, sweetness, slightly floral and/or perfume, slightest hint of spice or cinnamon, grain note. Taste: slight fruit, sweetness, but then gets dominated by a hot spicy quality, peppery, spicy note lingers quite a bit, grain notes. If a fiery lingering effect is what they were after, mission success. Would be much better if that were backed off some and replaced with a little more of a sweetness note that stuck around. Also might benefit from some slight peaty smokiness to help balance that spicy quality. A bit disappointed with this one.