a lesson in "bloom" from nrich239

[Knuck42]

First things first, these cigars were improperly stored for a long period of time.  Yes, that is most definately MOLD, not plume/bloom, (I have seen the two terms used interchangably).  Because it is on the foot of the cigar there is a very high probability that it is also inside the cigar which means they SHOULD NOT BE SMOKED!!  Also, there appear to be lots of little "chips" in the wrapper that from my experience are most often created from dropping the cigars or allowing them to be rolled around or bouned together.  The greenish/blue spots are water marks and in and of themselves should not be of great concern, again just another sign that these cigars saw some rough days.  What is of concern are a number of other things in addition to the mold.  

First, there seem to be a number of beetle holes in these cigars.  I would be curious to see what the bottom of the inside of the box looked like.  I'm betting there were lots and lots of little particles of tobacco dust.  

Second, I have never seen a BHK with such ugly wrappers, but then, I also have never seen a BHK which was stored so improperly for what appears to be a long period of time, (based upon the extent of the mold present), and treated so poorly, (based upon the green water spots and torn wrappers).  The wrapper reminds me of the wrappers I have seen on some uber-old smokes, (like pre-embargo stuff).  Extremely old cigars that have experienced extended periods of improper storage seem to take on that rougher, bumpy texture.  Veigns become more pronounced as do the lumps and bumps that I suspect were undetectable when the cigar was new.  That said the wrappers seem suspect to me more due to color than enything else.  They look almost Colorado in color as opposed to the light brown I am used to seeing.  But then each monitor shows colors differently so...  

Bottom line... as always... trust your sourse!!!

[Bill86]

How could you send those out for ~$40 a piece....those look downright awful, even poorly applied bands.

I've heard of "not looking" but how do you not notice those looking worse than Cohibos?

Even if they are legit, if I received those I'd have to smoke them myself. I couldn't even gift those away in good consensus.

If you did get those from said vendor why in the hell wouldn't you send them back?

[tksamtec]

[quote author=Bill86 link=topic=10628.msg57956#msg57956 date=1313774002]

If you did get those from said vendor why in the hell wouldn't you send them back?



[/quote]
My box of BHK52s, which was purchased from the same exact vendor, arrived in pristine shape and the cigars look alot different than the ones in this thread.

And yes, the bands in the pictures here may be real, but the egdes usually line up when they are applied at the Coh plant...unlike the ones shown here.

[Addiction]

Well I'll chime in.

Thats obviously mold, but everyone knows that.

I can not, nor can anyone else, speak to your state of mind when you bagged those cigars.  I mean yes, I think you sent out a package of questionable quality and yes I think you knew that it was a package of questionable quality but none of us KNOW you knew that was a package of questionable quality.  Lets all agree on that before we start the witch hunt.

I have some great looking BHKs, but I buy enough of them I might end up with some shitty looking ones.  I have concerns that you somehow ended up with a box of BHKs that look like the special olympics BHKs but I'll stop short of calling fakes.  To counter point I once sold a box of BBFs and had the purchaser proclaim they were horrible looking and must be fake, he would smoke one and then tell me how to process his refund.  Then he smoked one and asked me if I had more of that box.  We've all seen some ugly CCs that happens (tho i doubt it happens to BHKs).  All in all I just don't see enough evidence to call you anything but a person I would hesitate to trade with.  I wouldn't even go as far as a poor trading partner because you refunded the money within two conversations, thats pretty speedy.

I saw someone speak up that I'm pretty sure has seen the inside of 30 boxes of BHKs.  If you've only seen a couple of singles or a box or two I would say its hard for anyone with that little experience to think ALL BHKs will be a certain way, it completely ignores the variations of handmade products.

[Diamondog]

OUCH!

[insight]

[quote author=chenvt link=topic=10628.msg57942#msg57942 date=1313767446]
a) Yes that's mold and not even the a little white dusting that could happen during shipment in rare circumstances.  The fact that it's in the foot too means he has to have seen that bullshit when he put them in a baggie.

b) I would normally say authenticity is difficult, but I will just say this:  I've seen a high number of BHKs since their release, and I couldn't pick out the worst of the bunch and come up with ones that looked like the human equivalent of Amy Winehouse (too soon?)


[/quote]

I would agree with this post and trust in Dan's experience when it comes to this release (as it pertains to point B).  The green stuff is blemishing, the foot stuff is obvious mold and a shame.  If he gave your money back I would just call it a done deal.

[Thegreek]

I will say one more thing about this and leave it at that.

I remember not even opening the bag yet and looking at those cigars in horror. Those cigars were supposed to be for a meetup AND the Partis had some age.

I can always get both. What I still can't wrap my head around is the fact that someone could put those cigars in a baggy and then a box, and send them out to ANYBODY, is beyond my comprehension. To expect 200 bones is unconscionable  Anybody could have been on the receiving end of those cigars.

Finally, I started this thread NOT to start a witch hunt. I started this thread because while he returned my money (albeit reluctantly), I have yet to hear an apology. I also have to pay to have these cigars shipped back to him.

1) people, in the end, will remember how you made them feel, not what you did for them.

2) I don't see any BOTL spirit anywhere in sight with this person.

In my honest opinion, as many transactions that go on in our world, this cannot be tolerated. Simple as that.

[canadianbeaver]

What I will remember about this thread is the great photography and this...

Amy Winehouse of Cigars

BHK Special Olympics.

THANK YOU!!!!

CB

[tstoner86]

[quote author=nrich239 link=topic=10628.msg57950#msg57950 date=1313770582]


As for authenticity, I purchased them from PE last June which is a reputable source for many people here.

I also offered to take pictures of the boxes they came out of when you questioned their age.

[/quote]


......and we should all just take your word on this? lol  Yea right.  PE inspects their boxes before shipment and I find it hard to believe they sent $450 worth of cigars looking like that.

Just my 2 cents

[tksamtec]

[quote author=tstoner86 link=topic=10628.msg58027#msg58027 date=1313881141]

......and we should all just take your word on this? lol  Yea right.  PE inspects their boxes before shipment and I find it hard to believe they sent $450 worth of cigars looking like that.

Just my 2 cents
[/quote]
Maybe these BHKs came with a plexiglass topped box ?  LOL