Geneva

[Agricola]

I went to Geneva with my son for the Easter break and duely visited all the cigar retailers. On advice from this forum I also found Gesto Cigars where I also found the manager of the hotel I was staying at coming out as I was going in!

To cut a long story short the city is very expensive but the cigars are very reasonable and the weather was fantastic.

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Me outside St Gervais hotel. It is a very inexpensive hotel (for Geneva), quiet and clean with warm staff and an excellent central location leaving all cigar retailers only a short walk away.

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Me with Edgar (Hotel Manager) who can provide you with a map and directions straight to any cigar retailer but he reccomends Gesto Cigars as having the best price in the city.

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Me at Gesto cigars being overwhelmed at their stock, the lady is Jo Ann Chaise and the Gentleman is Jean-Charles Rios the proprieter of Gesto Cigars. All very nice people who provide an excellent service.

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And last of all some pics of the booty when I got it home!

Some advice if going to Geneva for the first time, use the bus/train/tram systen to and from the airport when going into and out of the city as it's free and a taxi can easily cost you £30. Try eating at the kebab houses as the food is cheap (relatively) and filling, the tap water is drinkable and don't play any of those cup and ball games for money on the street (I know but according to Edgar alot of people get scammed).

[The Rodster]

Go Gesto! A lovely place to buy cigars in Geneva.

[Simon Bolivar]

Indeed, but I long to drop by in person. Did you meet Joan or was she off that day?

[spirit_of_will]

Looks nicely stocked! Love that shot of your new sticks all tucked away in their new home...

[Agricola]

Indeed, but I long to drop by in person. Did you meet Joan or was she off that day?

I believe the young lady in the picture with me is Jo Ann, I don't have the name of the other lady as she was busy on both of my visits. The cigars are april 09 and had plenty of bloom on them, it seems I might have to start smoking some of my stock soon due to space.

[peanutpete]

is April 09 not a little early for bloom?

[monkey66]

is April 09 not a little early for bloom?

A lot early I would say.

[Agricola]

Sorry it was November 09! You can see it on the cigars in the last pic, I asked about it at the shop and Jean-charles told me it was bloom and just a sign that the cigars were working properly he dusted off the first layer and left the bottom one with bloom in tact. I wasn't aware that there was a minimum amount of time before bloom could occur, is there?

[Puff Scotty]

Bloom from that date is not unheard of...no minimum time, but usually takes several years to develop as it is caused by oils migrating to the cigars surface.
It can be caused by allowing a box to dry (criminal act) & then trying to restore but I'm sure Gesto's would not be guilty of that!
I personally have had nothing that young start to bloom..no matter: enjoy your smokes:849:

[Smallclub]

… Jean-charles told me it was bloom and just a sign that the cigars were working properly he dusted off the first layer and left the bottom one with bloom in tact.
If Jean-Charles wiped it off, it was mold - nobody would brush a thin layer of bloom which is made of crystallized oils!
What I can see in the picture is a few spots of light white mold - something that happens in many shops, not a problem if one checks the boxes regularly…

[monkey66]

Still amazing how few people (claim?) apparently don't know the difference between early stage mould (on the whole harmless) and bloom. Bloom is a crystallization of oils that can accumulate on a wrapper normally over many years. It is rarely hard white if you know what I mean. Mould is mould.

Shocking that an experienced retailer would talk such nonsense.

[peanutpete]

[QUOTE=monkey66;140537]Still amazing how few people (claim?) apparently don't know the difference between early stage mould (on the whole harmless) and bloom. Bloom is a crystallization of oils that can accumulate on a wrapper normally over many years. It is rarely hard white if you know what I mean. Mould is mould.

Shocking that an experienced retailer would talk such nonsense.[/QU

it does make you wonder, i guess he may think he will never see the people he sells theis boxes to again, or than again maybe just a mistake:dontknow:

[Agricola]

6667

OK so is this bloom or mould? From what I see it is all pure white with no discolouration whatsoever on all the cigars (smoked one last night and it was excellent) so what do you guys say?

[monkey66]

100% mould, brush it off with a soft brush.

[mb55317]

Mould for sure

[Smallclub]

Mould for sure; again, bloom is extremely RARE, it occurs only under extreme conditions (temp. and RH swing) and never on young cigars. I have only seen one case of bloom in my life…

[Stevieboy]

Does look like mould I'm afraid mate....Gesto's customer service is excellent and I'm sure they'll see you right...I've returned things in the past and they were only too happy to sort it out. 10/10 for service!!

[cbob]

6667

OK so is this bloom or mould? From what I see it is all pure white with no discolouration whatsoever on all the cigars (smoked one last night and it was excellent) so what do you guys say?

Meh.
Even with that fuzzy pic I can see that it's nothing to worry about. Just rub it off with your fingers (noticing the oils that are the reason for the plume), clip, light up and enjoy.

[Agricola]

I've already brushed off one and smoked it and it was a very good smoke, so yeah I'll just brush it off and not worry about it. Thanks for the opinions from everyone and I'd like to say that I'd still buy from Gesto in the future.

[Puff Daddy]

Sorry for my ignorance guys, but what is "bloom" and when would i see it? I've never come across bloom or mould...

[monkey66]

Bloom is when oils from the leaves make their way through the wrapper and go cloudy and/or crystalline. Bloom is very rare and almost always occurs only on older sticks (think 5-10 years).

Mould is common, if you want to see it stick a stick in a ziplock bag with some humidification, place in a warm room and wait a couple of weeks.

[CigarInspector]

I'm just back from Geneva (again), what a great city. With the current exchange rate, though, prices are not easy to handle...
Back to the topic - there's a good shop at 2, rue de Rive (Davidoff's shop), nice selection there.