Smokeable RASS or throw it? (Mold)

[Fishey]

I know its hard to answer this but I still need your advice:

Is this still smokeable? I brushed all of it and it came off easy.

[eg133]

I’d smoke it. I just give it a wipe with an isopropyl wipe and give it a light. I’ve even had some on the foot (Robusto Supremo nonetheless that broke my heart) but just cut it about an inch so there wasn’t any mold and smoked it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vladdraq]

If you want to use alcohol to wipe it, use a strong bourbon, or a cask strength scotch.

[Havanaaddict]

If it wiped off, and not on the foot Smoke it 

[JohnS]

You should have been around in the mid-2010s when H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1s were been offered habitually on 24:24 with sprinklings of mold on them. I've never seen anything move faster! 😂 And I mean that sincerely, I'm not being ironic, nor sarcastic, these boxes would sell out in the 'blink-of-an-eye!' It goes to show what our experienced members think of cigars with minimal surface mold that is easy to wipe off! 👍

 

[SCgarman]

Wipe it off with a clean cotton hand towel and light it up.

[Greenhorn2]

Shoot, the way the cold/flu bug is going around, you might want to smoke it as is and get a free dose of penicillin!

[GoodStix]

It’s not uncommon.  As above, if it’s not growing in the foot, and is just on surface of wrapper, brush it off (a thick make-up brush works well), then wipe the surface with higher strength whisky (or other ethanol — booze).  Enjoy.

I’ve only seen white mold, like your photo, but have heard if it’s coloured pitch it, but others here with more experience could offer better insight.

[Fugu]

It's funny how frequently you see the alcohol thingy being parroted suggested. What's meant to be the avail of that? "Sterilisation"? Alcohol will do just nothing, might even compromise the wrapper. The vegetative part of the mould is gone after wiping. Regrowth will be avoided by proper storage and not by schnapps. Just wipe off dry, as suggested above, and as has been practised since ages, and you'll be fine. In particular if you're not going to smoke it short term.

But I'd suggest that you leave the cigar(s) resting for some while, or perhaps as a makeshift shorter-term option dry-box it before you indulge. That "bloom" dusting there looks pretty fresh from the pics. It's always a sign of too high a tobacco moisture, or at least the moisture having been out of balance for some time. So, wipe and give the cigar(s) a little rest, would be my recommendation.

[Tunkat92]

10 minutes ago, Fugu said:

Alcohol will do just nothing, might even compromise the wrapper.

Exactly!! Very ineffective against spores and the time of contact needed to kill mold  will do more damage than good. IPA 70% is probably the most effective against mold but, IPA on my cigar….no thank you

[Chas.Alpha]

On the rare instances that I find (plume😀) on a cigar, I brush it off with my fingers and light ‘er up. Of course, I’m also the guy that makes cheese…

Dunlop Cheddar; best of the ‘23 batches so far.

[Fishey]

Appreciate the answers a lot guys! love this forum❤️ 

[GoodStix]

13 hours ago, Fugu said:

It's funny how frequently you see the alcohol thingy being parroted suggested. What's meant to be the avail of that? "Sterilisation"? Alcohol will do just nothing, might even compromise the wrapper. The vegetative part of the mould is gone after wiping. Regrowth will be avoided by proper storage and not by schnapps. Just wipe off dry, as suggested above, and as has been practised since ages, and you'll be fine. In particular if you're not going to smoke it short term.

But I'd suggest that you leave the cigar(s) resting for some while, or perhaps as a makeshift shorter-term option dry-box it before you indulge. That "bloom" dusting there looks pretty fresh from the pics. It's always a sign of too high a tobacco moisture, or at least the moisture having been out of balance for some time. So, wipe and give the cigar(s) a little rest, would be my recommendation.

 

13 hours ago, Tunkat92 said:

Exactly!! Very ineffective against spores and the time of contact needed to kill mold  will do more damage than good. IPA 70% is probably the most effective against mold but, IPA on my cigar….no thank you

 

Interesting.  Thanks.  Some of the old timers I know passed on that, after brushing off, wipe with cask strength Scotch or high proof bourbon.  Have done that many times (only if the mold is more than a light dusting), and have never damaged a wrapper.  The point wasn't to stop regrowth; as you said that's avoided by proper storage conditions.  Rather I was told it was to sterilize the mold that already exists, as brushing alone couldn't remove it all.  But like many things in this hobby, it might just be an old wives tale and unnecessary, except for peace of mind for some.  I don't have the science background to know if it's worthwhile or not.

[Adisaputra]

I suggest you wipe the wrapper with dry tissue paper. From the look it should be fine and definitely smokeable. 

[Andy04]

Claim that it is "plume"

 

[BrightonCorgi]

Totally smokable.  A little mold adds nuance to cigars.

[Fugu]

12 hours ago, GoodStix said:

Rather I was told it was to sterilize the mold that already exists, as brushing alone couldn't remove it all.

Ultimately, do what you want to do with your cigar, and should you spray it with Lysol... But seriously, it seems some folk becomes so carried away with "disinfecting" their cigar that they totally forget it'll eventually all be burnt anyway.

Alcohol is pretty ineffective as a fungicide and useless in regard to spores. It'll do more harm than good to your cigars.

If one really fears detrimental health effects from coming into contact with "germs" when touching a cigar, then one should better reconsider smoking at all in the first place... 

[PigFish]

Lord knows how many bugs, rat turds, boogers, and pubic hairs I have smoked in 40 years of this….? Ultimate demise will likely be the Hostess Twinkie, 100 year shelf life and all!

Where did this mold on the foot stuff start? Did you know mold grows without light. That means the inside of many a cigar you have smoked could have been full of the stuff… Just food for thought!

You think it says don’t go beyond the foot… it’s dark on there… and stops? 🥸

[Ford2112]

Bleach.  Kills everything.

[SCgarman]

4 hours ago, Fugu said:

Ultimately, do what you want to do with your cigar, and should you spray it with Lysol... But seriously, it seems some folk becomes so carried away with "disinfecting" their cigar that they totally forget it'll eventually all be burnt anyway.

Alcohol is pretty ineffective as a fungicide and useless in regard to spores. It'll do more harm than good to your cigars.

If one really fears detrimental health effects from coming into contact with "germs" when touching a cigar, then one should better reconsider smoking at all in the first place... 

300 sets of hands touch the tobacco from seedling to finished cigars in the box. Let some here digest this fact!😂

[jfestrelabr]

Smoke or send it to me and I'll smoke it for you.

[Chas.Alpha]

Back to the cheese thing for a follow up, did you know that the bread-like crust surrounding a Camembert or Brie is actually white mold?

Or did you want to know that?🤔

[cigaraholic]

 If you’re going to use high proof whiskey, I suggest you use it to sterilize your mouth not the cigar. Don’t forget to swallow!

[GoodStix]

2 hours ago, cigaraholic said:

 Don’t forget to swallow!

Pardon?!!!  😉