Just had one of these from my own stash.
The tax stamp is Act of 1926, with the Series also from 1926. As I learn more about tobacco tax stamps of the 19th-20th centuries I realize that the date on this stamp was used through 1931; so it
could have been manufactured and packaged between '26 and '31. I lean toward thinking that they are pre-depression, since I read somewhere that El Producto lowered their prices after the crash.
It's interesting to note that this was George Burns' favorite cigar, and that he might have been carrying a fiver just like this one during that time.
This wasn't pre-punched, so I nipped the least I could off the old head. Don't let anyone tell you that a Palio is an indulgence; the certainty that the cut will be clean and sharp becomes so important when clipping a stick like this one.
Pre-light, there isn't much aroma at all; age has muted what began as a mild cigar.
The first few draws don't reveal much either; papery essences and no shortage of bitterness. After a few purges and as the burn line rounds the narrow foot, I finally start to get what was meant to be; floral aroma, somewhat vegetal, the bitterness still in the background but, thankfully, diminished.
Past the first inch, more floral aroma; the bitterness is gone, and the pepper that the OP noted comes in, along with a creamy mouth feel to the smoke. Through the nose, an impressive amount of the same pepper and cream, along with the floral notes.
The intensity increases past the halfway point; what's amazing about this is that while age managed to mute this cigar on the outside, inside it is a delightfully pleasant smoke, and it's giving its all right now.
What's even more amazing is that these fivers probably sat in someone's attic or, at best, his desk for decades without regard to every storage convention we hold sacred, and yet here they are...a bit worse for wear outside, but still intact in every way.
Construction? We should all hold up this well when we're around 80...
All in all, a wonderful, humbling experience.