Iwan Ries Exclusives Pipes

[mso489]

Iwan Ries has good house pipes, sold as Iwan Ries Exclusives, priced from about

$35 to around $55. These include several good compacts that are perfect pocket

pipes; some good medium sized, around Group 4's, an Oom Paul or two, and one

or two extra large. Most of these, I understand, are made by Benton, in a shop in

Texas out of good Algerian briar, and a few are made by Savenelli without their

brand mark. These are excellent briars for new pipe smokers, or for building a

rotation for those with just a few pipes, or as travel or take-along pipes for the rest

of us. I have a billiard and a Canadian smooths, a compact bent billiard, and an

extra large bent billiard. They have light weight, good draw, good drilling. I can

recommend them. I'm not connected to Iwan Ries in any way, except that I grew up

in the Chicago area, but have never had the privilege of a visit.

 

[kcvet67]

Iwan Ries house pipes were a mainstay of my rotation back in the 60s and 70s, a lot of bang for the buck. IRC was a lifesaver when I was in Viet Nam, they were about the only way to get good tobacco.

 

[mso489]

kcvet67, Iwan Ries is a good old tobacconist. Wish they were a sponsor here, but they may come around.

One other advantage, I think they give customers a break if they have held pipes for a while, and sell them

at the original profit, don't just raise the price because prices go up. I don't know this, but having visited

the site over time, that is what I've observed on particular pipes. They give good service, in my experience.

I served off Vietnam with the carrier group, Market Time, up near the DMZ, on the minesweeper USS Gallant.

 

[kcvet67]

Iwan Ries is a good old tobacconist.

Stepping into Iwan Ries is a little like stepping back in time to a period when pipe smoking was a respected lifestyle. They have over a century and a half of service to pipe smokers and that's evident in the way they treat their customers. Their tobacco prices are high, but they often have blends in stock when everyone else is out. Their selection of pipes (only a fraction of which are online) is amazing. Their Smoking Lounge is IMO very nearly the ultimate man cave.

http://www.iwanries.com/the-front-room-chicagos-premier-smoking-lounge.cfm