n00b here, I found this thread while sitting in my accounting class tonight. As luck would have it I received two samplers from FSS today of the very same cigars.
I opened the first and found a spot of mold on one so I picked up the phone and called the 800 number on the invoice. The lady was polite and immediately set out to get a return label to me and another sampler sent my way. After hanging up I opened the other one and found mold on ~half of the gars.
I called back and spoke with someone else. He asked me what color the spots were and as soon as I said "white" he immediately flew into a "That's not mold that's...". Hold the phone hoss, I've seen plume, and I've seen mold in many places on many things. They look nothing alike and I'm not a dummy, despite how I may look.
I offered to send pictures and they gladly accepted them. Here's the reply
"Thank you for your email. My manager, supervisor, and myself all took a look at the pictures you have provided and we can confirm definitely that is in fact plum (bloom) and not mold. Mold would be green or bluish and when you wipe it off the cigar it would leave a stain and can rip the wrap because the mold would seep into the wrapper itself. If you wipe what you have on the cigar right now off, there should be no stain and the wrap will be intact. We have all confirmed what you have is simply plum. You can wipe it off and enjoy your cigars. If we had a littlest suspicion it was mold we would immediately inform you to return the cigars."
I guess there is no such thing as white mold. Tis impossible for it to grow on tobacco. Some guy on the internet said so.
Here's a pic