Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

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Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Looks good.

I need to get my cigars to look like that

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by SvilleKid (Post 1197284)

If the mold is surface only, and not up into the tobacco of the foot, wipe it down with a cloth that has a little alcohol (I have used vodka successfully in the past), then let it air out.

I also agree on this, provided maybe you snip 1/8 inch off the foot and it's CLEAN,
then wipe it off, wipe it again with vodka, then smoke it. I thought it must surely be under
the cedar wrap. And what I am REALLY saying is that I still would not smoke it, but
for YOU, if you see a clean foot and you remove all that, it might not hurt you. Look at
it this way, you are already dying a little inside just from the grief. Trouble with
smoking them like that is that you can get a little of that fluff in your sinuses and
be utterly convinced the whole cigar is moldy. It will affect the taste of the smoke
so strongly but you could hand it to someone else and they might not even detect it.
You should be OK, though if you clean it....IF NOT, I get your Packers tickets.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaisersozei (Post 1200128)

Cool pic, Wade--hope that's one of your sticks :dr

Unfortunately no, one of a friends.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Got a Monte Open Junior with what I think is mold on the foot:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...l/IMG_1285.jpg

I sent the vendor a little email letting them know. They insist it's plume because it's white, and mold is green. I told them I'm not upset, and I don't expect 100% from something like cigars, and don't expect a replacement or anything for something as trivial as 1 cigar. I know that in a full box, there will be duds, so if 1 tubo has this, no biggie.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Vendor needs a little education...:sl

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by pektel (Post 1201220)

Got a Monte Open Junior with what I think is mold on the foot:

I sent the vendor a little email letting them know. They insist it's plume because it's white, and mold is green. I told them I'm not upset, and I don't expect 100% from something like cigars, and don't expect a replacement or anything for something as trivial as 1 cigar. I know that in a full box, there will be duds, so if 1 tubo has this, no biggie.

I have never seen green mold on a cigar. I have seen water spots, but not true mold that is green in color.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Plume has no hair. ;)
I'd snip that Monte Open back 1/8 inch, too, see where it leads. Might be good to salvage.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

I just hate how vendors and B&M's lie about mold. Do they REALLY believe it is plume? I mean come on! It is so obvious what mold is vs. plume.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLS (Post 1201228)

Plume has no hair. ;)
I'd snip that Monte Open back 1/8 inch, too, see where it leads. Might be good to salvage.

And I would not, once mold is on the foot, just accept the loss and move on. :2

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by pektel (Post 1201220)

Got a Monte Open Junior with what I think is mold on the foot

From here it looks like it could be mold.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pektel (Post 1201220)

I sent the vendor a little email letting them know. They insist it's plume because it's white, and mold is green. I told them I'm not upset, and I don't expect 100% from something like cigars, and don't expect a replacement or anything for something as trivial as 1 cigar. I know that in a full box, there will be duds, so if 1 tubo has this, no biggie.

Send them this photo, ask them if they think this wood is plumeing too.
http://www.nachi.org/images08/white-mold.jpg

Or tell them to go blanch a tomato and peel it, then leave it out for a week or so, then when it starts looking like this, they smoke it, because it's all "plumey":
http://thumbs.ifood.tv/files/images/...to-mold-01.jpg http://thumbs.ifood.tv/files/images/...to-mold-02.jpg

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayner123 (Post 1201226)

I have never seen green mold on a cigar. I have seen water spots, but not true mold that is green in color.

I have. Dark green anyway. Unfortunately the flash washed out the color a bit on the top cigar, the bottom cigar shows a bit more accurate representation of the color, especially around the cap area since that was furthest from the flash.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9060/1000859w.jpg

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by T.G (Post 1201264)

Thank you for that picture. I still don't see that as green on my monitor, but I'll take your word. Maybe very moist mold looks green?

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayner123 (Post 1201325)

Maybe very moist mold looks green?

My experience with mold is that different types of molds are different colors, although some lightly pigmented molds will lose their coloration and appear mostly white after the colony dies.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

OK, so how weird is this! I took the original picture on Monday the 7th, after taking the pic, I took the cigar out of the box and placed it on TOP of the box, just so I'd not forget to wipe it down or toss it. Today I go back to the humidor to wipe it down and this is what I found. Nearly all the mold has appeared to disappear?

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...f/DSC00142.jpg

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

probably died due to not being in the perfection condition

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

couple more days like that and you could smoke it. :r
Seriously though, it dries down to 10-20% of it's original size. Spores are more dangerous when dry
I would imagine. Wipey-wipey.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

So, can I use Smirnoff or should I just go right to Grey Goose to wipe down?! :r

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volusianator (Post 1202438)

So, can I use Smirnoff or should I just go right to Grey Goose to wipe down?! :r

:r

70% ethanol is the most effective to kill bacteria/fungi. If you have anything that's around 140 proof (or higher), that's what you want to use.

(source: my microbiology class. also, we only use 70% EtOH in my research lab for this same reason)

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Or you can take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLS (Post 1202435)

couple more days like that and you could smoke it. :r
Seriously though, it dries down to 10-20% of it's original size. Spores are more dangerous when dry
I would imagine. Wipey-wipey.

So, Brad, in this case is the mold still there, just smaller? Or did it actually die off & go away?

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

One thing that you should consider is if the foot had mold on it. It is one thing to have mold develop on the wrapper but once its on the foot, time to just just your loses. Keep updating, very interesting post!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

This thread intrigues me. Keep it updated for sure.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

This thread is months old. This Opus has probably met its fate, whatever it was. :D

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTcigars (Post 1306351)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...0/753f0ecf.jpg

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikk50 (Post 1306437)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...0/753f0ecf.jpg

HAHAHA I know I failed big time on this but oh well -(P

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by macsauce13 (Post 1306433)

This thread is months old. This Opus has probably met its fate, whatever it was. :D

I smoked the *****!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Youre still alive, thats a good thing!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Like a Rattle snake in a black widows web: BURN IT WITH FIRE!

Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

I got a box of Anejo, and all the cigars that I've smoked had plume, about a dozen small patches per cigar.

As plume tells you that the cigar is at its optimal readiness for smoking, is there, then, any rush to smoke the cigars?

I would imagine no, as the cigars will continue to plume, and following that logic, become more and more optimally aged to smoke.

Re: Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfredo_buscatti (Post 1374783)

If what you see are in "patches", it is more likely mold. Plume, for the most part, will be evenly distributed.

Also, I have never heard that plume tells you that the cigar is at its optimal readiness for smoking. Where did you hear/read that? To the best of my knowledge, the appearance of plume means nothing as to when a cigar should be smoked.

:2

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam a (Post 1197036)

think of it as nature's cotton candy

hilarious

Re: Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnoon (Post 1374890)

If what you see are in "patches", it is more likely mold. Plume, for the most part, will be evenly distributed.

QFT - and upon close inspection, mold will appear fuzzy while plume looks more crystalline. Plume is a direct result of the migration of oils to the surface and is unlikely to occur in patches.

Re: Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfredo_buscatti (Post 1374783)

Or in the case you described, likely adding more mold. :2

Re: Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnoon (Post 1374890)

My cheap magnifying glass doesn't tell me the truth. Looking at the mold, I guess, thinking it was plume, I thought it was crystalline, and thus not mold. Having gotten your feedback, it looks fuzzy, like mold. In any case as it's not evenly distributed across the cigar, it must be mold.

If I wipe the cigars down with 95% ethanol, will it not only remove the mold but also inhibit its tendency to grow a second time?

I was told that plume meant optimal smoking readiness by a long-time cigar lover-he really loves cigars, especially those that are F+ strength. He used to sub for my local B&M owner. I'm surprised he was wrong; then again, he told me this at least 5 years ago, and my memory might be misleading me.

Re: Amount of Plume for Optimal Smoking

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfredo_buscatti (Post 1376500)

If I wipe the cigars down with 95% ethanol, will it not only remove the mold but also inhibit its tendency to grow a second time?

That's a bit overkill. While it will kill that colony, it might also change the flavor of the cigar.

Simply wiping the mold off with a paper towel and then lowering the humidity in your humidor, along with a few days of dryboxing for the cigars you wiped down should take care of it.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

T.G., I take it that I'm to wipe the cigars down with a paper towel that is not too moist with water?

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

I've always used either a dry or just barely moistened paper towel. Just enough moisture to pick up stuff on the surface, but not enough moisture to make the capa (wrapper) of the cigar wet or even damp.

Don't press down too hard, the capa is fragile and can be easily damaged. Also, always wipe toward the foot as wiping towards the head could cause you to catch a section of the capa where it overlaps and result in a tear.

If the mold isn't severe, you can sometimes also just wipe it off with your finger.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

T.G., thanks for your input; I've never done this before.

Which leads me to my next question: even after I remove the mold, there will probably be some left. Although I can work on segregating these cigars from other cigars in my humidor, do I just maintain vigilance as regards it spreading to cigars that are adjacent to them?

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

It doesn't hurt to keep an eye on them, but mold spores are basically everywhere in the air naturally already, so the easiest way to inhibit their growth is to keep the moisture down below the level at which they can grow, so if that box of cigars were mine, I'd leave both it (lid open) and the cigars out of the humidor for a day or so, then see how moist they are, if they still seem very moist, then a bit longer. Then make sure my humidor is operating at 65%RH or less, and put them in. :2

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

T.G. I got 90% of the mold off with a fingernail. Thanks!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

I'm digging up this thread simply because I don't think we need a new one. So I was hanging with a pal last night. He shows me this cigar:

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3218/plumeormold.jpg

What say ye? Plume or Mold???

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

The bigger white spots are mold to me. But what about that light white sheen? Is that mold too, or just impurities from the water used for active humidification?

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Based on my experience, it looks to be too thick to me for it to be plume, especially up by the cap end. But then again I could be wrong. The spots definitely look like mold.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickerb (Post 1563059)

Looks like half the cigars at my local B&M.... Seriously... :td

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

thanks for the info!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickerb (Post 1563059)

I would say that it's 99% mold on this bad boy...

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Mold isnt bad its just extra flavour its like smoking a fine blue cheese.

Same goes for beetles.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

Might produce a good trip? Or clear out a sinus infection!

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

I'd posted this in another forum I frequent; seems pertanant. A guy had asked about (gasp) using a dilute bleach solution to wipe moldy cigars with....:sl

Here's my reply:

Quote:

That is straight up MOLD! Even with the bad pic quality I could spot that a mile away. Bloom is not generally that pronounced and in giant clumps like that......If the white spots on your sticks make you second guess what it really is, it is probably bloom and not mold....

Guys, for the love of all things, this really is lots simpler than you are all trying to make it.

Bloom or plume or WTF ever you want to call it is due to the oils in the cigar seeping through the wrapper and crystallizing on the wrapper. It typically takes years for this process to occur and many cigars wont do this at all. If I dug every cigar I have in my cabinet out and went through them all (including some ISOM's from the 60's) my guess is that I might, and I do repeat might, find one or two that have plume. Maybe. Possibly. It's really uncommon,which makes a cigar that has it rare and interesting.

Mold is 99 times out 100 three dimensional...plume is not. Mold will usually wipe off with a moist cloth....plume will usually not but I have seen thin layers of crystallized oils that were affected by wiping. Mold shows up in (usually) hairy little spots...plume show up as a hard to see sheen, a thin film on the wrapper.

In the years that I've been smoking, each and every time someone posts pics and says "...is this mold or plume..." it has been without a doubt mold. Every time. If you find spots on your cigars and are asking yourself "...gee, is this mold or plume..." let me help you out: It's mold. I have yet to walk into a B&M and find cigars with plume on them, but I sure have seen some furry boxes of moldy cigars that the owner then proudly said were "nicely aged and covered with plume" and I walked right out, never to return, every time.

This is all pretty cut and dry. What to do about them is probably more open to opinion.

Wikipedia tells us that:

Quote:

Molds....are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae.[1] Molds are considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts. A connected network of these tubular branching hyphae has multiple, genetically identical nuclei and is considered a single organism, referred to as a colony.

The important wording in there is that mold typically grows in multicellular filaments. Mold may show up as a spot here or there, but the chances are quite good that even when dealing with surface spots, the growth has penetrated the wrapper and is well into the cigar. Tobacco is easily penetrated by these types of fungal infections. If you see mold on the foot of the cigar, you're done. Period. The very core of the cigar has been permeated and you're pretty much screwed. Yes, you can sometimes wipe surface spots off with a damp rag (I've used distilled water in past efforts) but you have to ask yourself what's inside the cigar that you can't see. A tiny spot is one thing; a wrapper that has hairy blotches all over it is probably toast. It's a matter of degree but usually I don't bother. I have tried to "repair" a cigar with mold spots on it in the past and the result is like smoking a well used pair of gym socks. Eeeccch....no thank you.

Now, this whole business of dilute bleach wiping a cigar. Chlorine has highest electron affinity and the third highest electronegativity of all the elements, which is a hoity toity way to say it's one hell of a powerful oxidizer and has a particular affinity for organic materials. That's why it's such a great disinfectant. Now, sure, a capful of bleach in a gallon of water is probably drinkable. Most literature that I could find on storing water recommended two to three drops per liter, so a capful per gallon might be a little strong but is in the ballpark.. But there are a couple of things to consider here. Most bleach is formulated for laundry use, and as such, often times has more in it than Chlorine in it. This will vary from product to product but it's worth noting. But, if you put bleach in water I can promise you that you'll be able to taste it. Yes, Chlorine is very volatile and will out gas quickly, but what did it do to the fragile tobacco leaves until it did? I mean, if it's powerful enough to kill the surface mold on contact, wouldn't you think it would also be powerful to at least change the wrapper somewhat? You know, the part of the cigar that is the majority of the taste of the cigar? No thank you.

My $00.02 is that if you really want to wipe your cigar wrapper, a little distilled water should do the trick. Then, promptly smoke the darn thing. Even if you clean it up on the outside, you have no way to know how deeply impinged the mold is into the body of the cigar. I'm as cheap as the next guy, but when it comes to cigars with any amount of mold at all, they get pitched. Period.

JMHO, YMMV, AFIK, OMG BBQ, etc......B.B.S.

Re: Ever Wondered Plume Or Mold

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...16164906_n.jpg

My local B&M swears up and down that this is plume. Thoughts?