About Holy Smokes
Holy Smokes was founded in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2004—the same year the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series. The business started with two high school friends, MJ and Bobby L., who left their construction work in Boston to build something of their own.
For five straight months, they worked day and night getting the store ready. Money was tight. There was no apartment waiting for them at the end of the day, so they slept on the concrete floor inside the unfinished cigar shop. It was not glamorous, but it did not matter. They had a clear goal: create a cigar store with one of the largest walk-in humidors in New Hampshire and fill it with the finest premium cigars they could find.
Manchester had never seen a cigar shop quite like it. The idea was risky, but the risk paid off.
“I remember selling a Diamond Crown humidor to a housewife while I still had a screw gun in my hand and paint all over my clothes. We were about a month away from the grand opening and were not officially open yet, but I wasn’t going to turn down a sale like that.” — MJ
Business took off from the beginning. Customers responded to the selection, the atmosphere, and the fact that the people behind the counter actually understood cigars.
From Premium Cigars to Craft Beer
One of the newest additions to the Holy Smokes operation is craft beer. Today, we carry more than 800 different beers, including hard-to-find releases and favorites from breweries throughout New Hampshire and the rest of New England.
It was an easy decision. We are located right in the middle of what we like to call God’s Country for craft beer. New Hampshire is surrounded by Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts—three states with some of the most respected breweries in the country. That gives us access to an incredible variety of IPAs, stouts, lagers, sours, seasonal releases, and limited-production beers.
Great cigars and great beer belong together. At Holy Smokes, you can find both under one roof.
Online Since 2004
Holy Smokes also launched holysmokescigars.com in 2004. Building an e-commerce website was much more difficult back then. There were no simple plug-and-play systems, and getting everything to work required a lot of trial, error, and late nights.
We stuck with it.
More than 20 years later, we still manage our websites in-house. We do not hand everything over to an outside company that may understand websites but cannot tell the difference between a Padrón Anniversary and a Double Corona. Cigars are what we do, and that knowledge matters.
With more than two decades of e-commerce experience, Holy Smokes now offers thousands of cigars for purchase online, including everyday favorites, premium boxes, limited releases, rare cigars, samplers, and five-packs.
Still Moving Forward
A lot has changed since 2004. Holy Smokes has made it through recessions, SCAM COVID SHUTDOWNS, changing regulations, supply shortages, and plenty of uncertainty. Through it all, we kept moving forward.
Today, we remain committed to the same principles that built the business: a huge selection, knowledgeable service, fair pricing, and authentic premium cigars. Whether you are shopping inside our Manchester store or ordering online, our goal is simple—to offer some of the best cigars and craft beers available, backed by more than 20 years of real experience.
No corporate script. No outside marketing company pretending to understand cigars. Just a locally built New Hampshire business that started on a concrete floor and never stopped working.
Location:
Holy Smokes Craft Beer and Cigars
297 S Willow St
Manchester, NH 03103
phone 603-623-3337
Hours Of Ops EST
Monday – Saturday 11am -7pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm