Is this mold or plume?

dtrdwngs

It looks like dust to me which I would think plume but you never know. My humidty was crazy for a little while. Here is a link to the picture. Can you post pix here? I am very new to this board so forgive all the questions please. http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/25/l_cf7ac80932ed4d34a91e1585475c91a9.jpg

j0z3r

That looks like plume to me. Did you try brushing it off? If it brushed away readily and left no residue then it is plume. Also, I think mold would tend to be a bit greenish.

I'm no expert, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt. I've read that plume can be formed by shocking the oils in the cigar, which is something that temperature and humidity fluctuations could very well do. For example, I had ordered a box of Fuente Don Carlos #3 and when I received it several of the cigars were speckled with plume, after letting them stabilize it my coolerdor, however, the oils were re-absorbed into the cigar and there was no sign of the speckling after that.

There are quite a few guys on the forum that know a good deal more about this than I do, and perhaps they can offer up more insight.

Joe

dtrdwngs

Thanks for the info. It feels like a light coat of dust. I am thinking it is plume mysef. They are "vintage" cigars and might be getting to prime time! You could very well be right about the shock factor though. Thanks again.

bass8844

Try putting the cigars in the light. Sometimes plume can look like crystals if held in certain angles. BTW, where in Korea are you?

dtrdwngs

I am in Uijongbu right now. It's not too bad here but getting a little chilly already. Nights are around 41 degrees. Actually, now that I pulled out the cigars and inspected again under the light, it appears most of the dust is gone. They do appear to be little dust like crystals. Maybe it is just plume after all. I will smoke one in the next few days anyway and see how they are. Won't be able to post results for a little while due to a work commitment. Anyone else tried these La Paloma Vintage Reserves yet?

Rob1110

Also, plume tends to be uniformly spread over the cigar, where it is more common to see mold in blotches here and there. I agree that I'd hold it to the light and see if it looks more like crystals or fuzzies.

kuzi16

j0z3r:

That looks like plume to me. Did you try brushing it off? If it brushed away readily and left no residue then it is plume. Also, I think mold would tend to be a bit greenish.

you have that backwards. mold brushes off very easily. mold will look like dust. mold on cigars is white and if you look very closely will look like tiny little structures. Plume is crystaline in nature. it is flat against the cigar and sparkles.

plume/bloom

mold

j0z3r:

I'm no expert, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt. I've read that plume can be formed by shocking the oils in the cigar, which is something that temperature and humidity fluctuations could very well do. For example, I had ordered a box of Fuente Don Carlos #3 and when I received it several of the cigars were speckled with plume, after letting them stabilize it my coolerdor, however, the oils were re-absorbed into the cigar and there was no sign of the speckling after that.

There are quite a few guys on the forum that know a good deal more about this than I do, and perhaps they can offer up more insight.

Joe

the theory you present on plume may in fact be true. Im not exactly sure how to test it but it sounds logical.

the other theory is that it naturally occures as the cigar ages and over time it the oils will simply migrate to the surface and crystalize.
im not sure about plume reabsorbing. thats a new one to me.

rusirius

kuzi16:

you have that backwards. mold brushes off very easily. mold will look like dust. mold on cigars is white and if you look very closely will look like tiny little structures. Plume is crystaline in nature. it is flat against the cigar and sparkles.

plume/bloom

mold

kuzi16

do the links not work? when i click them they work.

rusirius

kuzi16:

do the links not work? when i click them they work.

The link itself works, but then it just says, "No Image To Display" ????

rusirius

Ahhh... i bet you have to be a member of that site...

kuzi16

im not a member. try these:
bloom --- http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pid=446&fullsize=1

mold --- http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pid=927&fullsize=1

uh... if you dont have java it may not work.

rusirius

those work fine...

laker1963

kuzi16:

im not a member. try these:
bloom --- http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pid=446&fullsize=1

mold --- http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pid=927&fullsize=1

uh... if you dont have java it may not work.

Man what a SH!TTY thing to have happen to some nice Montecristo's !

madurofan

kuzi16:

j0z3r:

That looks like plume to me. Did you try brushing it off? If it brushed away readily and left no residue then it is plume. Also, I think mold would tend to be a bit greenish.

you have that backwards. mold brushes off very easily. mold will look like dust. mold on cigars is white and if you look very closely will look like tiny little structures. Plume is crystaline in nature. it is flat against the cigar and sparkles.

No Joe had that correct. Plume brushes off easily and leaves no residue. Some mold may brush off easily but it stains the wrapper. Kuzi, you are right however, about plume being crystalline.

kuzi16

plume does not brush off... without effort that is. the oils that form plume do wipe off before the plume has developed. therefore if you handle the cigars often your chances of plume developing are slim. Plume cannot be wiped off as easily because it is a chrystal that is IN/ON the leaf. it has almost no depth above the wrapper. if you read my review for the OpusX perfection no.4 you will note that there was plume on it. they did not wipe off. I tried.

I have also never seen mold to discolor cigars... at least on cigars that i have seen with mold on it. that doesnt mean that it wont, but ive never seen it. ive only seen a small number of cigars with mold.

kuzi16

madurofan:

Kuzi, you are right however, about plume being crystalline.

if it does not shine/sparkle it is mold.

kuzi16

ok so ive done a ton of reading on this topic today. what i have found is that there is a ton of different ideas about bloom and mold. most places say that mold can just be wiped away and you can smoke it safely and you probably wont be able to tell any difference. this is also supported by my local tobaccanist.

cigar.com has stated in a past newsletter that blume can also be wiped away. this is not my experience with any of the cigars that i have seen bloom on, but it seems that i have not tried hard enough to wipe it off.

that being said, the best way to tell the difference between the two is not how easily it is wiped off, but by the color. though plume and mold can be white in color the two biggest differences are:
Plume Sparkles
plume is uniform over the entire cigar mold is spotty.

other signs are that mold is more three dimentional and often looks fuzzy.

sane

You can always try tasting it, mold almost always has a very strong flavor. Also mold will reproduce fast so if they are getting worse each day then it is most likely mold.

kuzi16

...as long as you dont have an allergy to mold

urbino

Or it isn't that Tasmanian Body Rot mold that's been all up in the news lately. Then you'll die a hideous death. But you'll go knowing whether it was mold or bloom, which, I think, makes it all worth it.

dtrdwngs

Well, I didn't go so far as to taste it but I did brush a little off and it was like a dust so I really do think it was plume after all. I took one outside and lit it up and smoked it. It was really tasty. I enjoyed it to the very end. Thanks for the input everyone.

Lasabar

madurofan:

kuzi16:

j0z3r:

That looks like plume to me. Did you try brushing it off? If it brushed away readily and left no residue then it is plume. Also, I think mold would tend to be a bit greenish.

you have that backwards. mold brushes off very easily. mold will look like dust. mold on cigars is white and if you look very closely will look like tiny little structures. Plume is crystaline in nature. it is flat against the cigar and sparkles.

No Joe had that correct. Plume brushes off easily and leaves no residue. Some mold may brush off easily but it stains the wrapper. Kuzi, you are right however, about plume being crystalline.

Well I'm just about 10x more confused now then before... I'm just gonna go smoke now

Lasabar

urbino:

Or it isn't that Tasmanian Body Rot mold that's been all up in the news lately. Then you'll die a hideous death. But you'll go knowing whether it was mold or bloom, which, I think, makes it all worth it.

Ya know... for science

kaspera79

Kuzi has the best answer this time, Mold on cigars is like mold on your food, blue green and thick, spotty, fuzzy or stringy. Where Plume is more dusty, and sort of crystal like, and covering a larger area of the cigar.