Very enlightening. So, from the taste you describe and from the article you refer to, I suppose you did not taste the red variety - and fly off to goodness knows where!
I always wondered about the rhododendron effect (heard it was toxic). Now I've learned it's "medicinal" I shall worry less about the hives on a local farm, placed very close to the rhododendron shrubs. It may explain, however, why it tastes a little heady.