Cigar Geeks

Was doing my monthly bead / battery charging / inspection (OK, been a couple months since I did an inspection) and was very disappointed by some Cohiba glass tubes.  I have two boxes of these in my "box" coolidor.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IGCf23iL6QI/VAXlLt15okI/AAAAAAAANeA/tV967_QM5GE/s640/IMAG0382.jpg)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qajCTPxiVfU/VAXlbc-cDrI/AAAAAAAANic/GM5UPsGc2QE/s640/IMAG0369.jpg)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GPr82DTG7S0/VAXldZ9Lw0I/AAAAAAAANio/93O5LitKYK8/s640/IMAG0367.jpg)

There are 2 tubes with visible mold in that box. Getting worried, I did a full inspection touching every cigar in there (almost 600) and didn't find any other instance of mold. Pretty pissed off about that. Not sure why just these two had problems.

I also have (had) 2 AF Don Carlos 2006 cigars. I took one with me to South Africa, and noticed a crap load of mold underneath the cedar band.  :angry:  Checked the other one when I got home, same damn problem...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tmxqMCzIot0/VAXvJiJkSzI/AAAAAAAANmI/ZnOOgpboEqs/s640/IMAG0385.jpg)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Oihx_HXAbMk/VAXvH7jzKwI/AAAAAAAANlM/lI9SikT_ngc/s640/IMAG0392.jpg)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GMQzAbbotnc/VAXvCgZ9CHI/AAAAAAAANkc/y5tlJlcuvJw/s640/IMAG0398.jpg)

Quick inspection of that coolidor showed no other problem children. Will do a full hands on inspection later today, hopefully nothing else. 

That sucks.

This is the very reason I don't like to store cigars in cedar sleeves or tubos.  That type of cigar is the only one I've ever had mold in my personal humidor (mostly Fuentes).

ouch!
I hate those cedar sleeves. I always seem to get mold under them.

That really sucks man

that sucks.  Good thing is you can still smoke them.  This really isn't "porn".  Kind of like that 2 girls 1 cup video.

Tubos are notorious for this; glass tubos especially.  Looks like it time wipe them off and smoke those Cohibas

Had the same problem with one of the 2007 Don Carlos. The others were fine though.

Good you found it now instead of later.

Sad, but glad you caught it early,, at least you can still enjoy them, just sooner than my may have planned,,,

OK, so other than those Don Carlos and Cohibas, all my other sticks check out! Yay!

Now, to clean off the problem kiddos. Most articles recommend using denatured alcohol. I have an open bottle of Everclear. Close enough, or should I use Isopropyl? I'm thinking food grade Everclear for the cigars and the Isopropyl for the coolidor. Never experienced mold before, to this is a bit new to me!

Thanks!

QuoteTed - 9/2/2014  3:16 PM
 I'm thinking food grade Everclear for the cigars and the Isopropyl for the coolidor. Never experienced mold before, to this is a bit new to me!

Thanks!

Yup.  And don't soak anything, just apply a bit to a soft cloth or strong paper towel and gently wipe away.  Stick the cigars on a clean table and let a fan blow air over them for a couple hours to completely air dry, then rehumidify.

QuoteBrlesq - 9/2/2014  3:28 PM

QuoteTed - 9/2/2014  3:16 PM
 I'm thinking food grade Everclear for the cigars and the Isopropyl for the coolidor. Never experienced mold before, to this is a bit new to me!

Thanks!

Yup.  And don't soak anything, just apply a bit to a soft cloth or strong paper towel and gently wipe away.  Stick the cigars on a clean table and let a fan blow air over them for a couple hours to completely air dry, then rehumidify.

I'm not sure I like the fan idea. Based on the small amount of mold it's most likely due to small concentrations of higher humidity. I would suggest wiping off any molded cigars and place them naked inside a ziploc with a piece of cedar and a small 67% boveda. You don't need to rush and smoke them as they will be kept in optimal conditions and ready to smoke when you are.

You really can't fight against mold forming like that unless you decide to remove all tubos and cedar sheathes.

QuoteThe Burn Ward - 9/2/2014  3:39 PM  

QuoteBrlesq - 9/2/2014  3:28 PM  

QuoteTed - 9/2/2014  3:16 PM  I'm thinking food grade Everclear for the cigars and the Isopropyl for the coolidor. Never experienced mold before, to this is a bit new to me!  Thanks!

Yup.  And don't soak anything, just apply a bit to a soft cloth or strong paper towel and gently wipe away.  Stick the cigars on a clean table and let a fan blow air over them for a couple hours to completely air dry, then rehumidify.

I'm not sure I like the fan idea. Based on the small amount of mold it's most likely due to small concentrations of higher humidity. I would suggest wiping off any molded cigars and place them naked inside a ziploc with a piece of cedar and a small 67% boveda. You don't need to rush and smoke them as they will be kept in optimal conditions and ready to smoke when you are.  You really can't fight against mold forming like that unless you decide to remove all tubos and cedar sheathes.

:word:  

QuoteThe Burn Ward - 9/2/2014  3:39 PM

QuoteBrlesq - 9/2/2014  3:28 PM

QuoteTed - 9/2/2014  3:16 PM
 I'm thinking food grade Everclear for the cigars and the Isopropyl for the coolidor. Never experienced mold before, to this is a bit new to me!

Thanks!

Yup.  And don't soak anything, just apply a bit to a soft cloth or strong paper towel and gently wipe away.  Stick the cigars on a clean table and let a fan blow air over them for a couple hours to completely air dry, then rehumidify.

I'm not sure I like the fan idea. Based on the small amount of mold it's most likely due to small concentrations of higher humidity.

Right, and that is why the fan will help alleviate some of that humidity still stored in the cigar.

OK, so threw the Don Carlos sticks in a ziploc with a 62% Boveda after cleaning with Everclear. These are looking OK. These are the only cigars I've seen mold under the cedar on. I have tons of other cedar wrapped cigars that don't have this problem. Bought these from CBid, don't know if that may be a consideration.

Went ahead and popped the cork on all 20 Cohiba tubes to clean and verify the rest were still good. They weren't. Now I know why the tubes suck so bad. After removing the tape/cork seal, I noticed mounds of mold holding the foam humidifier to the foot of several cigars. I'm guessing the foam was overly wet when sealed. Ugh. Any with mold on the foot I just tossed. Out of 20 sticks, 12 survived. I absolutely love these cigars too. Very depressing. I have half a dozen in robusto coffins that I haven't opened. They don't put foam in these, so I'm hoping they're OK. Will check later, after a few medicinal shots of Everclear for me.

Well, that was an $80 lesson in tube mold.  :cry:

Quotequickme - 9/2/2014  12:28 PM

that sucks.  Good thing is you can still smoke them.  This really isn't "porn".  Kind of like that 2 girls 1 cup video.

 :barf:  :barfonyou:

smoke em n' move on!  :biggrin:  :angel:

That sucks Ted, sorry to hear.

I had my only ever mold incident with a box of Short Story I kept closed (damn should have listened to myself).  Box burnt ;-) , cigars cleaned up good and perfect for smoking but that had me even more paranoid and worried about the condition of my dear cigars.

I remove metal bands, cedar sleeves, get sticks out of tubes (plastic, glass or metal), coffins etc. I re tag the cigars if needed. Now I'm tempted to empty full boxes :-0

Lost 8 of them?  That really sucks.  Another brand to watch is the Camacho Liberties.

QuoteMojo66 - 9/2/2014  7:41 PM  I remove metal bands, cedar sleeves, get sticks out of tubes (plastic, glass or metal), coffins etc. I re tag the cigars if needed. Now I'm tempted to empty full boxes :-0  

Cats and dogs, living together...MASS HYSTERIA!  :lmao:

That's the kind of porn you dont want to see. :-0

Coffins, tubes, and cedar sleeves are some of the worst offenders for mold growth. Fortunate that you caught it when you did.

Any Fuente I buy with a cedar sleeve, I immediately remove the sleeve. I have had many,many Fuentes mold up under that cedar. Lesson learned. Fuentes with cedar sleeves seem to grow mold much more than other brands. Makes me wonder why they still use the sleeves. Go figure.

May spend a few hours this weekend removing cedar sleeves and opening coffins. All glass tubes have been tossed, metal tubes stored separately. Wondering if I should open the wet-packed Tat Petite Cazadore cab?

Quotequickme - 9/2/2014  12:28 PM

that sucks.  Good thing is you can still smoke them.  This really isn't "porn".  Kind of like that 2 girls 1 cup video.

Why? Why would you remind us of that?

Quotebstessl - 9/3/2014  12:53 AM  

Quotequickme - 9/2/2014  12:28 PM  that sucks.  Good thing is you can still smoke them.  This really isn't "porn".  Kind of like that 2 girls 1 cup video.  

Why? Why would you remind us of that?

Hahaha! Haven't seen it. The persistence and snickering that accompanied the links to that vid triggered the spidey sense early. I did fall for the goatse link way back when though.  :angry:

QuoteTed - 9/3/2014  12:01 AM
Wondering if I should open the wet-packed Tat Petite Cazadore cab?

That is a great question.  I have a wet-pack of the Tatuaje Blacks (jar) that I haven't opened yet.  I've never heard of mold growth on them, but it does seem like an ideal environment for it to grow. :confused:

Quotebstessl - 9/3/2014  2:53 AM

Quotequickme - 9/2/2014  12:28 PM

that sucks.  Good thing is you can still smoke them.  This really isn't "porn".  Kind of like that 2 girls 1 cup video.

Why? Why would you remind us of that?

the word "porn" gets me every time but the results are not always pleasant.  I don't understand why they make porn so long anyways.  I'm only able to watch 5 minutes of it MAX!!  sorry for throwing this thread on a tangent.         :loser:

Wipe 'em and get smoking!