edameff Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I did this about a year ago and had an excellent response so here I go again. I am posting photos of a box of Vegueros which I just purchased. The box is from Nov 1998 and smells wonderful. When I first opened this box I was convinced I was looking at mold. I was lucky enough to have a former Quality Supervisor from the Partagas factory present, and had him inspect the box. He brushed some of this white stuff off, and smelled the box very deeply, he then assured me that this was bloom, not mold. I am about to go outside and light one of these up, but took some photos to let you guys take a look. Go ahead and tell me if my cigar will suck or be great (no comments from the peanut gallary about the brand, I know most don't like Vegueros).
wen1979 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 wow ...that's a microscopic photo of some really serious stuff.
tigger Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Looks like mold to me, but of a variety that you can wipe off and not be worse the wear for it.
brian1 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Regardless, they are beautiful looking cigars indeed. Let us know how they taste.
bob25 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Great detailed pics! I wouldn't smoke them,they look nasty,especially the last two pics/
compitaveggie Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I'd say mold also, but still very easy to wipe off and enjoy the cigar. Jose
El Presidente Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 My favourite of the Vegueros and a consistenlty fine cigar.
edameff Posted February 9, 2011 Author Posted February 9, 2011 Well, I just finished smoking one, I picked the one with the most white stuff on it...Wow, it was great. I have had the misfortune of tasting mold on cigars multiple times, there is a distinctive dry/dusty unpleasant taste to the cigar. This one smoked great, it wiped off very easily and although this is not one of my favorite brands, it tasted great. The cigar was well balanced and very enjoyable. If you look closely the white material has no color (blue, green, etc) and left no staining with a very light wipe. In my opinion this was not mold.
tigger Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 That is mycelium of some sort, but there are a wide variety of fungi out there, and white ones tend not to be damaging. Edited to add: Glad you enjoyed the smoke!
El Presidente Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 That is mycelium of some sort, but there are a wide variety of fungi out there, and white ones tend not to be damaging. Certainly looks that way. I have never cared. you have a moist product kept in a relatively moist environment with fluctuations over 12 years. One or two spots of harmless mold are the norm and not the the exception. Unless I am mistaken (I have never looked), Plume under a macro lens is Crystalline in structure?
anacostiakat Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Yea looks like old mold to me. As long as it hasnt gotten to the foot and you can wipe it off you are good. But I wouldnt store them with any other sticks.
CanuckSARTech Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 That is mycelium of some sort, but there are a wide variety of fungi out there, and white ones tend not to be damaging.Edited to add: Glad you enjoyed the smoke! Certainly looks that way. I have never cared. you have a moist product kept in a relatively moist environment with fluctuations over 12 years. One or two spots of harmless mold are the norm and not the the exception. Unless I am mistaken (I have never looked), Plume under a macro lens is Crystalline in structure? Yea looks like old mold to me. As long as it hasnt gotten to the foot and you can wipe it off you are good. But I wouldnt store them with any other sticks. Fully agree with each of these statements. I too think it was mold. That Partagas rep could easily just have been telling you plume, to better "facilitate the sale", so to speak. If you think it was mold, especially a severe form of it, then they could be thinking that you maybe wouldn't want to buy them then. Hell, they could have just been as mistaken as some of us are quite frequently. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference, even for an experienced eye. But I'd also concur with Pres that yes, plume is generally more crystalline in structure, definitely noticable under a scoped picture like those, and is generally more spread out and fully covering the surface, not spotty colonies like you see there. Either way, I also agree with the others too - if it smoked well, and didn't taste off, then who cares? As long as the mold isn't drastic (not too all-encompassing) and isn't alien hues of greens and blues, and especially isn't sprouting from within the filler/foot of the cigar, and is instead just a minor surface imperfection that can be easily brushed off, then all could still be fine. I would freeze/refridgerate them, and try to separate them from my other stock though, just to be sure that there's no chance of a spread maybe. But, it's all up to your palate, more so than any of our eyes and opinions based on these pictures.
jedipastor Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Those pictures are mold, absolutely, 100%. Take it from a former Bio major. You can literally see the tendrils growing out ... and have heads like little mushrooms. Mold. Plume is crystalline. It will look like a tiny little geode or natural salt formation under that kind of magnification. In any case, mold can be wiped off easily enough. As long as it hasn't grown into the foot you're good. If it stays on long enough it can stain the wrapper, though.
Smallclub Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 … I was lucky enough to have a former Quality Supervisor from the Partagas factory present, and had him inspect the box. He brushed some of this white stuff off, and smelled the box very deeply, he then assured me that this was bloom, not mold. … this is a typical answer of Cubans who work in the cigar industry… he told you what he thought you wanted to hear. But it's definitely mold.
CBL Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Great pics! But I also think it's mold. Have had some light mold on a couple cigars over the years and luckily also some bloom on others and they are often hard to tell apart. But like most have said before, a little wipe and nothing can stop you from smoking them A cigar that had a little mold on it will still taste better then a dried out one
LeafLover Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Don't know TD. Doesn't look crystalline to me. My understanding is that plume is more crystalline in structure. But hey, if it smokes well. Just be careful. Would hate to see you fall ill from smoking them if in fact it is not plume.
edameff Posted February 10, 2011 Author Posted February 10, 2011 Don't know TD. Doesn't look crystalline to me. My understanding is that plume is more crystalline in structure. But hey, if it smokes well. Just be careful. Would hate to see you fall ill from smoking them if in fact it is not plume. Now that you mention it, my last bowel movement was a little fuzzy...
CanuckSARTech Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Now that you mention it, my last bowel movement was a little fuzzy... :huh: Ewwwww.....
CohibaBehike Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 I'd be interested to see a close up picture (like the ones here) of a shot of bloom next to these shots of what appears to be mold.
dB69 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Why not buying an uv-light? They are not very expensive, 20€ in Finland so half of it in everywhere else.. Bloom will reflect uv, but mold will not. I just can't prove it because I don't have any cigars with mold on them.
CanuckSARTech Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 I'd be interested to see a close up picture (like the ones here) of a shot of bloom next to these shots of what appears to be mold. There are a lot out there, but from other webpages (would rather not post, out of respect for our hosts). Just do a google search for "cigar bloom", and sort out the search by picking "images for cigar bloom", and look through the various pages that links through those pictures - there's lots of comparison pictures to be found.
Van55 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 That is absolutely mold and not "plume/bloom". Sorry.
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