Mexico, Central & South America > Panama > other areas of Panama > Chiriqui > Articles > The Return of a Forgotten Classic

Panama has for centuries been one of the most important transport centres. From the days of the trans-Panama railway to the construction of the Panama Canal to modern times, Panama has been the central point for transporting goods from Asia and America to Europe.

When the French were trying to build the Panama Canal in the late 19th century, two men, Alfons Darier from France and the Belgian nobleman Jean van Cleef, sought to take advantage of Panama’s burgeoning location as a trading and export centre by founding the country’s first cigar-making factory.

Darier and van Cleef were able to use Panama’s favourable geographical location to export the cigars to all corners of the world. In 20 short years, the name Darier & Cleef became synonymous with quality cigars, and connoisseurs on all continents fought to get the limited cigars produced. The line of Balboa Cigars were named in honour of the Spanish seafarer, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who discovered Panama.

Unfortunately, financial difficulties and other setbacks (22,000 workers are estimated to have died during 1881 and 1889) forced the French canal construction company to sell out to the United States and as a result many French companies left Panama. Darier & Cleef was relinquishment in 1904 and followers of Balboa Cigars were forced to look elsewhere for premium cigars. It was only the local tobacco farmers in Panama who still talked in revered tones about Balboa Cigars right up to the present day.

Enter German cigar lover and connoisseur, Alexander A. Molter. Almost a century after production of Balboa Cigars had been stopped, Molter heard the fantastic story of the Darier & Cleef cigar factory in Panama and set about reviving the legendary brand. He was enraptured by the heavy aroma and outstanding quality of Panama tobacco and wanted to share it with the world.

“It was a risky venture,” explains Molter. “But I saw potential there. And sometimes you have to take a chance. I was working in Panama at the time and learned the story of Balboa Cigars, and it fascinated me. I felt the world needed these cigars again.”

In 2000, he began the long process of producing Balboa Cigars again, a process which includes up to five years of fermentation and which has finally culminated with the recent release of four classic sizes: Panatela, Robusto, Churchill and Torpedo.

“When the first cigars came out in 2005, the cigar smoking public in Germany and Europe we very interested,” says Molter. “We sponsor all the major polo tournaments in Germany and also work together with five star hotels and top restaurants around the world. In a short time, Balboa has become one of the most sought after premium cigars. It’s the only cigar made from Panama tobacco and the taste is unique. It could be the most exclusive cigar in the world.”

Panama tobacco gets its rich and lustrous taste from the fertile earth of the Chiriquí province and from the warm and humid climate. Balboa Cigars are made according to traditional methods and only pure Panama tobacco is used. Because the tobacco is only grown on small tobacco farms, just a few tons can be harvested each year, making the Balboa a very hard to get cigar. For each of the four sizes, tobacco is taken from different plantations and then made into cigars according to a secret recipe. The different conditions of each plantation lend a different flavour to each cigar size.

“The key thing about Balboa cigars is that we only use Panama tobacco,” explains Molter. “We don’t use any fertiliser or pesticides on the plantations. It’s natural tobacco and you can taste the difference. We also follow the same methods for making the cigars as was used back in 1880.”

In accordance with tradition, the modern Darier & Cleef cigar factory still attaches great importance to the tobacco fermentation process. They pay close attention so that the tobacco leaves develop the fine aroma which distinguishes the brand. The ligero, seco and volado tobaccos used in Balboa Cigars need at least four years of fermentation. For the binder leaves and the slightly oily wrapper leaves, up to six years are required.

But it is in Germany, in the Darier & Cleef storage cellars, that the cigars develop their complex and unique flavour. For six months, the cigars are matured in controlled conditions in vaulted cellars, marking the final phase in the fermentation process. The result is a refined, aromatic, and aesthetically pleasing cigar that is as good to look at as it is to smoke. It is very smooth from start to finish, with a fine draw and a consistent flavour right to the end. But more enchanting is the sense of history that comes with a Balboa, a once dominant cigar that was lost for so many years and is now on the rise again.

“We’re a growing company,” Molter says. “This year we will release a Corona format, and we will be going into accessories a little more, including cases and travel humidors, but only made from the highest quality materials like snake skin and premium leather. We are also developing the Golden Balboa, which will have a wrapper of gold.”

Molter would not say more about the Golden Balboa except that it should be available by the end of the year and should cost between US$400-500 a piece. But the idea of a golden cigar, which would glow like a lamp when lit, will have cigar lovers around the world snapping their lighters in anticipation.

All Balboa cigars carry the tripa-larga, totalmente a mano description, meaning that they are made by hand from whole leaves. These cigars are made using only the finest raw materials and that stringent quality means only a restricted number are available. Thus, only a few thousand carefully packaged cigars leave the vaulted cellars of Darier & Cleef each year, coming out in individually numbered boxes made from cedar wood. Each cigar comes with a special gold band that shows what vintage it is.

Balboa is once again the synonymous Panama cigar and is available around the world thanks to an online mail order company. Cigar lovers are indebted to Herr Molter, for he has rescued one of the great cigar brands of history.

Darier & Cleef GmbH
Germany
www.balboa.de

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