Mullingar Irish Mead

I used to smoke this on occasion back in the late 70s, early 80s. I was able to purchase two 1.5 oz pouches of Irish Mead from someone who acquired them at an estate sale. Both pouches were sealed in the original cellophane wrapper and not overly crunchy. I opened one of the packets. It was dry, but not dust, and smokeable. In the pouch it had the faint smell of Heather Honey and was as I remembered. The smoking experience was reminiscent of many of the soapy-like OTCs I smoked in the late 70s early 80s. It was also a bit nippy on the tongue and that was how it was back in the day. I couldn't taste much in the way of the Heather Honey or anything else more specific in the smoke (lost a lot over time I suspect), but definitely that fermented aroma/taste as with well-aged tobacco. All in all, a basic Va Bur, mild, and pleasant in the room note department. It was very similar to some very aged Erinmore Flake I picked up a good while back (that tin was 30yrs plus). If I had to compare it to anything current, I would say it's more like Peterson's Irish Dew, a basic VaBur (a bit of vanilla/chocolate and a touch of whiskey in that one).

Douwe Egberts apparently blended it for Mullingar-Ireland from what I was able to track down. Also, Douwe held the trade mark on it and let it expire in 1996, long after it was no longer on the market. I remember buying it regularly, but don't recall seeing it much past the mid 1980s.

When John David Ltd (brick and mortar chain) was still around, they had a blend called Heather Honey. With that one, you could smell and definitely taste the heather honey. I suspect John David's was actually Irish Mead as I always remarked how similar they were in all aspects of comparison.

2 stars for what the aged version brought to the experience.