Esteban Carreras Taken from the Hand of the Devil Renamed to Taken from the Hand of the Dictator

Esteban Carreras Cigar Co. has announced that its “Taken from the Hand of the Devil” line has been renamed to “Taken from the Hand of the Dictator.”

The company has announced the change, saying that it “more accurately portray(s) the remarkable story of Gonzalo Puentes and his team of freedom fighters.” Puentes runs Esteban Carreras’ factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, but before that, he worked for the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture. The company says that in the early 1990s, he was part of a team that developed a “near-perfect corojo seed” by using positive selection to harvest seeds from only the best seeds. After a few rounds of selective breeding, the seeds were not sent to the Cuban government, as was intended, and instead were smuggled out of Cuba.

One of the places the seeds landed is Nicaragua, which is where the tobacco for these blends is grown. The original Taken From the Devil’s Hand was introduced in 2022 while a Maduro version was added in 2023. Both blends are made entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco, including a corojo-seed wrapper.

“The name ‘Taken from the Hand of the Devil’ was a placeholder, meant to evoke the clandestine nature of the operation,” said Craig Cunningham, owner of Esteban Carreras, in a press release. “However, ‘Taken from the Hand of the Dictator’ more accurately reflects the historical context and pays tribute to the individuals who sacrificed so much to preserve this extraordinary tobacco.”

Historical accuracy is not the only explanation.

In March, Urban Wolf Management, LLC—a company managed by Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars—filed suit against Esteban Carreras Cigar Co.

Urban Wolf alleged that Taken From the Devil’s Hand infringed upon Urban Wolf’s “The Devil’s Hand” trademark, a mark that it applied for in May 2021 and was granted in August 2022.

Last month, the two parties informed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida that the dispute had been settled. While the  name change is likely