Rather harsh in the beginning. Once the burn cooled down, I could finally enjoy the sweet bourbon flavors of the wrapper alongside the dominant black pepper notes of the filler. Toward the end of the first third some fresh wood also entered the picture, followed by sweet wood during the second third. I can now taste the sweetness of the wrapper on the tongue while I feel the strong black pepper at the back of my throat. The woodsy notes continued intermittently through the end of the second third, together with some dark cocoa notes. However, all these nuanced flavors are mostly an afterthought to the black pepper. The final third was the most exciting, with flavors of raw wood finally replacing the pepper. This was short lived though, and the stick turned bitter towards the end.The construction was top notch throughout, much better than that of the Champagne sticks; the filler is well packed, and the wrapper snug, while the draw was excellent through a bullet punch. Unfortunately, the filler is the same bold and not very complex peppery tobacco that is being used in the rest of the 10th Anniversary series. The nicotine seemed to be medium strong, a notch below that of the Champagne. It would be fun to try this alongside some of the other 10th Anniversary releases and note how the different wrappers affect the overall flavor profile.This was an interesting experiment overall, an yin and yang of sorts, but the stick is not very nuanced for my liking, and the lack in consistency is very frustrating. Still good for the money, especially alongside a spicy bourbon or rye. I think Perdomo is finally onto something with their barrel aged tobaccos. If only they could get a smoother filler... maybe in the 20th Anniversary version I hear?
