At the 2022 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show, Esteban Carreras launched its first Corojo-wrapped cigar – Taken from the Devil’s Hand.

The cigar itself features a dark Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper over all-Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler. The smoke is rich, with heady notes of leather, cedar and a fair amount of spice. The full aroma and room note is outstanding. 

The story of the name Taken from the Devil’s Hand goes back to the 1990s in Cuba. At the time Gonzalo Puentes, the Minister of Tobacco, was tasked with enhancing the Corojo. This was done through positive selection by growing 100 plants, taking the best five, and regenerating them several times. Eventually, the positive selection seeds from the best plants were selected. It turns out these seeds from the project were smuggled out of Cuba to Ecuador and Nicaragua – leaving the negative selection seeds to Cuba (or the “Devil” a.k.a. Castro).