Best of Boston

The war against smokers has been waged with shock (by kicking them out of bars) and awe (by taxing tobacco to the moon). Beleaguered refugees take cover in Peretti’s, a family business for more than 130 years and a proud throwback to a more tolerant age. Scorning the eager hygiene of modern smoke shops, Peretti’s is a glorious scramble, less a store than a history lesson. The shelves groan under the weight of thousands of handmade pipes, cigars from Avo to Zino, and more handblended tobacco mixes than Bing Crosby could have puffed in a lifetime. (He was a patron.) If it exists, it’s probably here, and the gentlemanly staff will offer you a clip and a light.