Right off the light it was very strong. I like a full flavor strong cigar but this was a little much. About a 1/2" down, it started settling out into a great tasting cigar. Had hints of leather and little bit of a smokey oak. Very smooth through the rest of the smoke. Biggest problem was the uneveness of the burn. I fought this thing the whole time to try and get an even burn but no luck. I have a feeling the tast would have even been even better with an even burn and I missed out on something this stick was going to offer. I got one left in my collection so hopefully that one comes through.