Good to hear this got resolved, Greg, even if it did take a "heated" phone call.
While I agree that almost no smoke tastes better than a free smoke, I for one just cannot smoke cigars that have molded. I've tried; once they sprout mold, especially if it's on the foot, I just can't go there. It tastes like smoking old gym socks to me.....eeeccchhh. I hear lots of guys say "....wipe 'em off and smoke 'em..." but I just can't. Not enjoyable, at least to my palate.I think a FREE, moldy smoke should taste pretty darn good... Wipe them off and smoke'em!
Regards,
BT
YMMV.......B.B.S.
I had a little bit of mold grow on about 4 cigars a few years back. Luckily it was not on the foot or in the bunch, but just beginning to grow on the wrapper. It was pretty sparse, so I just wiped them off, washed out the tupperdor they were in, and kept an eye on them until they were torched. No problem. However, they had barely any mold, just a few scattered spots, none larger than about 1mm in diameter. I'm sure that the more mold there is, the more it will affect the cigar's taste. Try one, and if it tastes like you're smoking you jock strap, pitch them, you've lost nothing. If they turn out to have survived, then you have some free cigars!