Ended up letting the Nica Rustica live another day:
This one has me befuddled (great word) and trying to put my finger on how exactly to classify it. Stiff draw but tons of smoke. Body jumps between med-full to super mild from one draw to another. Finish is almost non-existent. Solidly built stick, seriously it feels like I could club somebody with this thing and the ash would hold just fine and it smokes like a chimney. So yeah, it's ok, I guess?