New in the humidor today

[bigbarneyhotdog]

Is it mold on the du Maire's? the box looks wet in the photo? I'd send them straight back mate

[whisky77]

Over humidified.

Looks like the Hoyos are suffering from a little too much humidity there mate.Had a box of RASS years ago which were sent to me in the same condition;needless to say I sent them right back.

Bloom is an easy fix, mold is not.

CAVEAT EMPTOR, INDEED.

[yiorgos]

Is it mold on the du Maire's? the box looks wet in the photo? I'd send them straight back mate

Yes it is mold, nothing to worry about though...It is fresh, as the wrapper hasnt been stained and it rubs off very easy.
One of the boxes did look wet, but its not! its just a shade on the wood

[Seriesteve]

Bloom fine, Mold no good, keep them away from your other Cigars and your Humi, as the spoors can really mess you up.
As the others have said we take it they are going back ?

[yiorgos]

Looks like the Hoyos are suffering from a little too much humidity there mate.Had a box of RASS years ago which were sent to me in the same condition;needless to say I sent them right back.

It's not severe, not yet anyway... When they start growing hairs, thats when the worries start! A few days in intensive care and they will be as good as new!

[HabanoSy]

WOW!!! What a haul yiorgos - the Punch DC's look absolutely great...

Im afraid Im with the other guys on the HdM's, if it were me I'd be sending those du Maires straight back as mold is a definite NO, NO...!!!

Cheers, HabanoSy

[whisky77]

Sorry, not convinced.

It's not severe, not yet anyway... When they start growing hairs, thats when the worries start! A few days in intensive care and they will be as good as new!

Personally, i would be asking myself about the QA/QC of your retailer and the fact that they would actually send the cigars to a customer when they are in this condition.

I like a bargain as much as the next person and maybe it`s just me, but you should not be purchasing a product and then have to put it into "intensive care".

[Simon-JG-hr]

Agree with you there whisky77.

I know cigars are a natural product, but you wouldn't buy a television that essentially needed fixing before it could be used (well, you might, but you'd buy it for next to nothing, and you'd be informed of the fact first). For me, that principle holds for cigars too. I want to buy a product in a good 'new' condition - slightly obtuse use of the word new, but I'm sure you get my drift. If they break (grow mould etc), I want it to be because I buggered something up. I wouldn't give someone a mouldy cigar, let alone sell them one; I'd expect a retailer to have the same standards (if they wanted return custom).

[ACMCC]

Hi Yiorgos, what do think is the best thing to do with them? I have some on the way myself, not from this site but a similar age, what do they smell like? and more so what do they smoke like? I have a lot of cigars that have age on, many with light plume, but I've never seen any with the early stage's of mould (Penicillium spp/Aspergillius spp) like yours, with luck mine may arrive mould free, cheers ACMCC

[bigbarneyhotdog]

more reasons not use that retailer imho!

[yiorgos]

Personally, i would be asking myself about the QA/QC of your retailer and the fact that they would actually send the cigars to a customer when they are in this condition.

I like a bargain as much as the next person and maybe it`s just me, but you should not be purchasing a product and then have to put it into "intensive care".

I get your point and I agree with you...however, the cigar boxes were all sealed. This vendor, like few others, does not open any of the boxes for inspection before sending them out. So I couldn't blame them for that. Other vendors pay more attention to their QC and CC (opening boxes, honoring wrapper colour and box code requests) and this does reflect on the prices.

The pictures actually makes the mold look worse than it is. It has all wiped off with a small soft brush and have left no spots or shades on the wrapper. As I said before, I wouldn't be worried too much about white mold on the head of a cigar. Many cigars I 've seen and smoked had similar problems, but that did not affect the taste or burn of the cigar. Needless to say, I do not follow some smokers view that mold adds to the taste!!!

If the mold was blue or even worse green, or if it was on the foot and inside the cigar, then they would have been unsmokable. I just cant get bothered getting in the effort in sending back a box of du Maires that costed less than ?20!

[yiorgos]

Hi Yiorgos, what do think is the best thing to do with them? I have some on the way myself, not from this site but a similar age, what do they smell like? and more so what do they smoke like? I have a lot of cigars that have age on, many with light plume, but I've never seen any with the early stage's of mould (Penicillium spp/Aspergillius spp) like yours, with luck mine may arrive mould free, cheers ACMCC

Hi ACMCC,

It is the first time I received over-humidified cigars, and hopefully yours will be mold free. I would much prefer if they weren't, but I couldn't be too bothered either. If they do have mold though depends on how bad it is and it's really up to you if you'd send them back or give them the first aid! In my case, wiping down with a small brush removed it all. Keeping an eye on the hygrometer will stop it from growing back.

I smoked the first one just a while ago...as expected, pleasant but not too exciting. Good woody taste and strong aromas. A 25min quick fix!

[ACMCC]

Thanks Yiogos, I was thinking that the flash may have made them look worse as it less noticeable in the other shot, I'll post a few pix of mine when they arrive, this could have happened maybe on the way due to a large change in temp forming a little condensation (in the back of a hot van then in a very cold hold in the bottom of the boat)

[Deano]

Mold = it happens, but as long as they're good at replacing them, then not too much harm done.

[Seriesteve]

So long as the customer is happy, and by the sounds of it you are, for the price you got them, it's worth a flyer
All the best SS