From Jeanne Morris at the Manchester Union Leader:

It has been illegal to buy, sell or import Cuban tobacco products in this country since the 1960s, which is why more than a 100 stogie lovers turned out to puff on Cuban cigars being sold at Holy Smoke House in Manchester.

These Cuban cigars are legal because the tobacco was imported into the United States in the 1950s before the embargo, store owner Mike Johnson said at a special gathering Saturday night. It was only recently that heirs settled on release of the 46,000 pounds of leafy gold. The $15.99 Pinar 3000 cigars hit the market last year.

This was not a first date with a Cuban cigar for most.

Jason Oldroyd of Nashua laughed when asked how he had come by the contraband before last night.

“I can’t disclose that information,” the 25-year-old truck driver replied. Others said they enjoyed them while abroad.

A pillar of thick, white sweet-smelling smoke rose toward the ceiling as Allen Bixby of Manchester pulled on a Cuban Pinar 3000.

“You can equate it to wine,” the union electrician explained.

Bixby spoke of flavors, discerning palates, aging and fermentation. Mature leaves like these, which are aged in a climate-controlled storage room, are much smoother than the younger Cuban cigars, he concluded.

Only men were seen enjoying the cigars in the two smoke-filled rooms during the early evening hours. Most were in their 20s and 30s, the age group mostly responsible for revival of cigar smoking since 1994.

It’s a trend former construction workers Mike Johnson and Robert Lynch, both of Manchester, decided to cash in on last year when they opened the smoke shop. Johnson said the store, opened only a year ago, is running in the black.

“We’ve been profitable since day one here,” he said.

It’s not just about sales and smoking. Holy Smoke House has become something of a men’s club, with patrons puffing away on black leather couches watching sports on a large screen TV.

Mike Beland of Manchester talked about relaxation and hanging out with friends.

“I mostly smoke on the weekends,” the 28-year-old Autofair Ford service department employee said.

Bixby leaned on the glass counter while chatting with a few other men. His seven-inch Cuban Pinar had burned down to a three-inch stub.

“It’s a man’s thing,” he said.