The Speakeasy Tobacco store.

Recently I went to Iwan Ries & Co. A well known pipe shop online and in reality. In the bustling surviving city of Chicago. Anyways When you first see Iwan Ries & Co. your immediate thought is, that it's pretty much like its website. Rundown, old, past its prime, and going out of business. Not to mention latest victim of the recession.

But that is far from the truth. When you enter you will climb up two flights of stairs and take a right. Where you'll enter the shop that felt like entering a speakeasy. Just without the booze and mobsters. Where, instead of a man waiting to take your coat, you are greeted by a case full of interesting pipes through different eras, including a Native American peace pipe.

As you enter the shop you notice two things. First, is the smell of cigars from the moment you enter the shop to the second you leave the building. The second thing you'll notice is the wide variety of pipes, pipe tobacco, cigars, and cigar accessories. Though this is a problem if you are a novice or a beginner because it is easy to be overwhelmed by the huge variety of pipes.

But this lack of organization, isn't so worry some if you have some experience under your belt with the pipe. Because every pipe smoker knows or should know the difference between a Dunhill and a Peterson.

With that in in mind when your done looking at their pipes you want to to move towards their selection of pipe tobacco. When you take look at their selection of tobacco, and when you do you see that it is HUGE. With every kind of tobacco, from Dunhill, CAO, Peterson, and many more kinds of tobacco that I can't remember their brand name.

Of course when you leave you're doing it, cause you don't want cancer from second hand smoke. Which permeate the entire store and your clothes. Not to mention that there is a time limit that everybody has, as to how long of staying in before you need to leave.

As I end this review. I'm glad that I went to this tobacconist, that I got to see their pipes, their HUGE tobacco collection, and even their cigar collection was impressive. So if you go to Chicago, make sure you go and take a peak at 19 S Wabash Ave. So yes this may be my new tobacconist when I am in the Windy city…………Or is it?

So with that I'll puff you later.