Mildew & cigars

K

kansashat

What would Skeeter do?
Although I have found a few references to mildew in cigars on the net, I think it is a worthy topic of conversation here.

I recently found a pretty good B&M in Joplin, Mo. with a nice walk-in humidor that has a nice selection of cigars. They carry quite a few brands that I haven't tried, so I thought I'd found a great source for some singles that was with-in driving distance to me (I get to Joplin about once a month anyway).

Their pricing is pretty reasonable too......I think I got a DC Maximus #5 for $6.70 there.

I have purchased about 12 cigars over the past coupla months there.

The problem is that about half of them have been marred by the distinct mustiness of mildew.

The purpose of this thread is to spark a discussion as to the causes of mildew in a humidor. I have my own theories (I usually do ;) ) about what could cause this nasty phenomena, but am certain that some of our resident brainiacs know the real truth (SeanGar, where the hell are ya Scooby?).

This particular B&M has a large walk-in with humidifiers like you can pick up at Walmart running non-stop. The high humidity is, of course, one factor. Also, the boxes are open for display creating exposure to the "active" humidification system. The probability that tap water is being used in this system is high on my suspect list.....this would introduce biologicals into the environment.

My humidification system is "passive" & contains a bit of pg, which, I believe, discourages biologicals. I have stored thousands of cigars, & while I have grown a little mold on ocassion, mold growth has been limited & has never destroyed the flavor of my cigars. I just brush it off & light em up.

I have received mildewed cigars once from an on-line vendor.....thankfully, it was only a 5-6 cigar sampler of Bahias.

Ok. Time to climb down off of my soap-box & see if anyone else has had this dis-heartening experience & hear their thoughts on the subject.
 
kansashat said:
The probability that tap water is being used in this system is high on my suspect list.....this would introduce biologicals into the environment.
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As I was reading, I thought the same thing!


:ms NCRM
 
Glad you brought this up and welcome to the area. Should have dropped me a PM and I would have met you there at the BM. We enjoy Ferricks as it is the only Cigar Shoppe close to us.

I will admit I do believe sometimes that the Humidity of Maddies is too high and you have to dry them out a bit to smoke them. I have not found mildew on them as such yet from this BM. Did you raise the question to the BM owner? I will admit their stock of cigars as good as any bigger city.

But, I agree with your general assessments of use of only water as a hydration element especially if stock is to be stored for long periods of time. I have not used a humidfier as a humidification source because my smokes stay within range because of the way my house runs.
I also have a couple of open air aquariums that contribute some to the humidity of my home.

Also, I have gone there and asked the owners to come online to visit clubstogie which as you may well know I like a great deal for all its info and all the knowledgeable folks here.

Again,:) Would have been glad to come say hello.
 
I have seen the same thing at a few B&M's around. I brought it to the attention of the guys in the shop and they said ""wow what a great looking smoke" they thought it was plum. I hated to tell them that plum is not spotty and green and white in color. For alot of folks for some reason plum and mold is tough to figure out. One thing I did notice about these cigars they actually had both on them plum and mold. Which does make it a little more difficult. However plum is never green. One thing I did notice in this humidor was that the digital hygro was on 75%. A good shop will look over the humidor everyday or at least a few times a week. They will pull out any damaged cigars and anyone with problems.

A little wrong information about mold is that it will leave a spot on the wrapper if you wipe it off. That is not always the case. I have had a few with mold and the mold came right off with out any wrapper damage.

My suggestion is to educate yourself and protect yourself from people like this that simply do not know any better. I have found that some take your advice and others are offended by it. As long as I know then I am ok. RJT
 
I didn't name the B&M because I didn't feel as if naming them served any purpose in the discussion, but you got it right Bob. I'm a bit disappointed. Next time you are in there, put your nose to the tuck (foot) of a Bucanero Z & see if you don't agree. Next time I am in there I will mention the issue with the owners.
 
I think excessive heat and humidity for prolonged periods and exposure to mold and mildew spores promotes growth. Not sure usind distilled water would prevent this if the organisms were already present.
 
RJT said:
I have seen the same thing at a few B&M's around. I brought it to the attention of the guys in the shop and they said ""wow what a great looking smoke" they thought it was plum. I hated to tell them that plum is not spotty and green and white in color. For alot of folks for some reason plum and mold is tough to figure out. One thing I did notice about these cigars they actually had both on them plum and mold. Which does make it a little more difficult. However plum is never green. One thing I did notice in this humidor was that the digital hygro was on 75%. A good shop will look over the humidor everyday or at least a few times a week. They will pull out any damaged cigars and anyone with problems.

A little wrong information about mold is that it will leave a spot on the wrapper if you wipe it off. That is not always the case. I have had a few with mold and the mold came right off with out any wrapper damage.

My suggestion is to educate yourself and protect yourself from people like this that simply do not know any better. I have found that some take your advice and others are offended by it. As long as I know then I am ok. RJT
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I wasn't able to see this particular biological, just smell & taste it. I fear that the mildew came from the humidifier.
 
If it is a walk-in humidor (or any humidor for that matter), there are plenty of fungus spores just floating in the air. They are everywhere (yes landing on your clothes as you read this thread), so the source of microbial agents could be anything. If you leave an open bottle of microbial media out, fungus will grow almost 100% of the time.

I know my local B&M keeps the humidity of their pretty large walk-in humidor rather high (I thought they said something like 80%, but I could be wrong), since it is constantly being opened and losing humidity. I could imagine, if a shop had a well-made walk-in humidor (with good seals) that didn't get opened for some period of time (lets say overnight or if they are closed on sundays), then the humidity might get a little too high and mold could start to develop.

just some thougts on the subject.
 
smokinpoke said:
for some of us new guys can you define the specific differences between plum and mold.
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I would just do a search, here is one recent thread that has some more links embedded in it.

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29944&highlight=mold

My first ever tubos, I am pretty sure had a mold problem. When I first search the web I thought it was just plume, but after looking at more pictures, it was mold. If it grows in patches it is probably fungus. I agree with RJT, mold does not always discolor the wrapper when you wipe it off.

hope this helps.
 
Plume is the crystallized & dried oils of a well aged cigar. It looks like the cigar has been dusted lightly with fine white flour, or powdered sugar.

Mold can be a blue green splotch, or a feathery whitish growth on the cigar. Small amounts of mold can usually be brushed off (not the green kind) & generally doesn't affect the flavor of the smoke as long as it hasn't gotten too out of hand.

White mold is many times mistaken for plume by folks that have never seen real plume.
 
For the purpose of clarification, I must say here that I didn't start this thread to talk about the "common" occurence of molds that we are all familiar with. The "not so common" occurence of mildew, which is a form of mold that has a pronounced smell & taste. Mildewed laundry will smell sour at first, then musty as it dries. This is the nasty little bugger I am talking about.
 
You know a friend here received a cigar that was an AF that had a paint thinner type of smell to it. He could not assertain where the guy who gifted it to him had gotten it. It tasted terrible he said even though it had been left to set out a bit.
I am wondering about that kind of smell. Also, ammonia that produces a pungent smell on some cigars. I know the mildew smell you speak of. Also, I have a tendency to take a good whiff of the cigar before ever lighting it to see what the general smell is. I have seen the blue green blotches on some smokes that have sat. So, is it Active Hyrdration or Passive Hydration that creates an enviroment for mildew?
I think this thread is a great way to discuss some of the common or uncommon things we might find from a B&M and also help us protect those cigars we do have. So, thanks for bringing this up. :)
 
Bob said:
You know a friend here received a cigar that was an AF that had a paint thinner type of smell to it. He could not assertain where the guy who gifted it to him had gotten it. It tasted terrible he said even though it had been left to set out a bit.
I am wondering about that kind of smell. Also, ammonia that produces a pungent smell on some cigars. I know the mildew smell you speak of. Also, I have a tendency to take a good whiff of the cigar before ever lighting it to see what the general smell is. I have seen the blue green blotches on some smokes that have sat. So, is it Active Hyrdration or Passive Hydration that creates an enviroment for mildew?
I think this thread is a great way to discuss some of the common or uncommon things we might find from a B&M and also help us protect those cigars we do have. So, thanks for bringing this up. :)
Click to expand...

The ammonia smell indicates youth. The cigar was probably quite young & needed some age.

I wouldn't say that an active humidification system creates an environment for mildew, but I would say that when humidifying a much larger space with active humidification system, some folks might be tempted to use tap water, which would increase the chances of biological growth. I was simply curious to find out if this is a common occurence throughout the countryside.
 
The local that I visit frequently has a large walk-in and they also use those large active humidifiers. They have Hygros in different spots in the walk in so you can actually see for yourself the rh levels.

Generally they are all in the area of 64-70 percent.


I've never had a problem of mold or mildew on any of the sticks I have gotten there, and each time I walk in to their humidor all I smell is sweet, sweet tabacco and cedar :dr Never had a mildew-y smelling cigar from their either.
 
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