Too bad you didnt like this, SWR is one of my favorites. I would characterize it much differently then you, I definitely detect top flavoring. The room aroma also gives away a topping that is mildly sweet, but what you didnt mention is what I do like about it. There is a certain dark, slightly sour dimension to the smoke that perhaps is an aquired taste but one that I enjoy.
Maybe its my personal PH level, but SWR always packs a nice nicotine punch for me, somewhere around the middle of the bowl I notice an enjoyable feeling of detachment, a definite buzz nearly every time I light up a bowl.
While I do enjoy it in briar, it sings a slightly different note in a good corncob pipe.
Try this blend out in a Missouri Meerschaum cob before you toss it.
I also tend to blend this 50/50 with McClelland 5100 Red Cake, both being pretty monochromatic, but with the 5100 lending its bright notes to the darker SWR, and giving it a little bit of a character change through the bowl (SWR smokes about the same for me, beginning to end by itself)