Analyze my photos - Mold or Plume?

[swat253]

I have my suspicions, but since I've never experienced either, I'll leave it to some veteran opinions.

The oldest of my repertoire... Originally came individually boxed in a five pack. Kept in a desktop humidor in their individual boxes (end caps open) for 10 months until removing from boxes and placed in cedar trays in my Vinotemp.

Took them out today to rotate and inspect and saw this.

The box in the pics is a Padron Box, but it's just sitting on top of my Vino. The cigars are not Padrons.

 

[CaTeacher]

I don't have experience with either, but looks like mold to me bro. looks fuzzy.

 

[swat253]

I think I may cuss...:noemotion

 

[AlohaStyle]

little fuzzy stuff on the foot, in the tobacco... sorry bro.

Seems that every comment I've read says you can wipe a little mold off the cigar wrapper, but toss if it's on the foot... again, sorry bro.

 

[funkejj]

little fuzzy stuff on the foot, in the tobacco... sorry bro.

Seems that every comment I've read says you can wipe a little mold off the cigar wrapper, but toss if it's on the foot... again, sorry bro.

I totally agree with aloha here. when it gets in the foot it is done for. i have heard of people clipping off a inch of the foot but I wouldn't chance smoking something that might cause health problems. And yes I know tobacco might cause health problems.

 

[benday]

definately mold in the foot...clip off a little and see how far the mold spread...to smoke or not is your choice but mold has to spread from the foot up.

 

[njstone]

I've never seen plume come out of the foot like that, only out of the wrapper or at the wrapper-edge of the foot. But I'm not very experienced with plume. Take it in the sunlight--in my limited experience sparkles like tiny crystals.

Either way, I'd triple check all my other sticks near there and make sure the Vino is not only rH controlled but gets plenty of fresh air regularly.

 

[GoingPostal]

I don't have experience but from what those who are. Mold looks fuzzy where plume is like a fine dust and glistens in the sunlight. so sorry to say but looks like you got mold.

 

[ciggy]

I've read (and I can't remember where) that you can wipe a light white mold off your cigars. If it is blue or blueish green then it's done for. I have had this show up (not on the foot) on a couple of my tubed cigars which I just wipped clean and they are fine. I store with caps off or untubed now. If it were me I would cut the foot to see how far the mold has entered. If it's not bad i would wipe the rest down and place somewhere safer in my humi. By the pics I say you caught it in time as far as the wrapper is concerned...not sure about the foot.:tiphat:

 

[Zen Cigar Man]

the little spots on the leftmost cigar do it for me. it's mold.

and seconding the other guys, no plume on the foot either.

 

[Pooh Bore]

Get a UV light (black light) as Mold IIRC glows and bloom doesn't - Or it may be the other way round !

 

[Alwayslit]

It's mold......hate seeing this.

 

[twenty5]

Its mold.... What are your temp/humidity levels?

 

[38-50]

I agree that it is mold. Too high of temps with proper humidity can cause mold to develop.

 

[e-man67]

If it in in the foot it is mold..they are done.

 

[jjon90]

Some info HERE..

 

[swat253]

My worst fears have come true... I was suspecting mold.

These were my prized Cohiba IVs. The jewels that led me to start my collection. I never smoked a single one.

I've wiped them off, isolated them from the riff raff and will make a determination on how to proceed at a later time.

Thanks for all the replies. I knew you guys would know.

 

[txaggie9307]

I think you should snip the foot and see how deep the mold is... If it is not too deep, smoke that thing asap.

 

[agctribefan]

It looks like mold to me. the Experts at my local B&M (I trust them very much) say the easiest simple test is to just wip them with you fingers. If it comes of easily then its generally plume. If it doesn't come off or it comes off but leaves a mark or stain behind, then its mold. the kicker is it being in the foot. Thats usually a sign of mold.

 

[swat253]

Well, I inspected every stick in the Vino this morning and narrowed the loss down to 3 Cohibas, totally lost ( I snipped 1/4 inch sections at a time, unraveled the leaves and saw signs of spores here and there) 2 Punch RS 12s, 2 Monte Cristo #5, 1 RASS, 1 RyJ Short Churchill, 2 RA Suiza - ALL LOST. Only 4 of the sticks showed fuzzy mold, actual spots, but the others hinted at mold spores within the gaps of the rolled leaves.

The culprit... Two mesh bags (double-bagged) with 1/2 lb of beads laying in the bottom rear of my Vino had started to stain a mottled, brownish hue and the beads were turning a dark goldish/orange. They had never seen anything but distilled water and were located there to absorb a bit of condensation that would appear near the drain plug from time to time. Two plastic containers of beads were unaffected and all beads looked normal.

Everything went into the trash. I used a lighted magnifying glass to visually check each and every stick in the lot. Say what you will about cello - not a single one of the sticks in cello showed any signs of contamination. The affected sticks were all from the same Spanish Cedar tray on the center rack of my Vino. Temp was usually 66-67 degrees and RH was between 60-65% on each of three hygros, all at different levels within the Vino.

The onset was fast! I check my temp/RH daily and open the door almost everyday just to enjoy the long-lasting aroma it leaves in the home office. This particular tray gets plenty of attention as well.

I'm guilty of trying to cut corners and trying to save a few bucks by going with EBay bargain beads and NOT Heartfelt. So, a costly lesson learned. No more bargain beads; no more mesh bags for me (they leaked the cracked beads anyway). :disappoin