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This time will be in my favorite American city, Chicago. Arriving April 30 but we have plans that day. Iwan Ries lounge rocks for us but outside somewhere might be better? Available during the day while Mr Beaver is in work meetings. Our hotel is downtown. My name on Facebook is Lisa Rotenberg (in real life too) if you want to message there. Cheers! CB

HERF #4 - CHICAGO HABANOS SOCIETY - LIVE THREAD!!! We are CRAZY in Chicago and this is the invite to our next HERF! All FoH members are welcome! We picked a Saturday in the weekend right in the middle of Superbowl and Valentine's Day weekends, In honor of the SuperBowl and the ridiculous coverage of it, I’ve decided to start our LIVE THREAD about 5+ hours before it kicks off!!!! IT’S GAMEDAY!!! So many choices, so little time! Location: Big Mike's Cigars in Skokie, IL Address: Big Mike's Cigars 8016 Lincoln Ave, Skokie, IL 60077 (847) 675-2447 https://g.co/kgs/A3Kd12 Date: Saturday, February 8th, 2020 Time: 1pm to Late We will be there well into the night! For a long time! So no worries if you want to show up a little later. Food: Smoque BBQ (https://smoquebbq.com/) Josh @inter4alia and I have decided to cater in Smoque BBQ Beef Brisket for the CHS HERF. This is our treat to CHS! We will have Baked Beans, Mac 'n Cheese, Cornbread and Mini Buns as well! !!FOOD WILL BE DELIVERED AROUND 5PM!! and open to all CHS HERF Members and Guests. Specifics: 1. We can bring in our Cuban cigars and smoke them all day and night! 2. You may bring in your own alcohol to drink. They have glassware to use there for any beers, liquor or wine we bring in. 3. They have a large variety of non-alcoholic drinks for sale. Entrance Fee / Cost / Minimum Spend Per Person: Big Mike’s has been kind enough to allow us to come into their establishment, take up valuable space and allow us to smoke Cuban cigars that we obviously cannot purchase there. We worked out a deal where everyone attending is asked to buy a couple of sticks from the humidor as an “entrance fee.” Or you can just pay a $20 flat fee or make other purchase(s) totaling $20 or more. This is an incredibly low minimum spend per person for a HERF! This applies to EVERYONE who attends the CHS HERF!: CHS & FoH Members, Guests, Smokers and Non-Smokers. This is my local B&M and I love this place and have a special relationship with the ownership / management to be able to host this special event so please remember to throw them a few bucks for extending us this courtesy! Attendees: Please reply in this thread to us know if you will be able to attend so that we can give Mike's a head count and reserve the right number of tables. Summary of Probable Attendees: 12 Members Confirmed; 1 Maybe; 6 Guests Running Attendee List: @Buck14 @inter4alia @lovethehaze @Chibearsv @SigSauer516 (+5) @Ry27 (maybe) @mdido @5thStarChicago @kevpro @Diabolicalpherpher @NewFatMike (+1 Mich) @foursite12 @Inthestix

Chicago Habanos Society (CHS) HERF #2 has been set. CHS welcomes all FoH members to attend our next HERF if you happen to be in Chicago the evening of August 23rd! When: Friday, August 23rd, 2019 Time: 6pm - Midnight Where: Up Down Cigar 1550 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610 http://www.updowncigar.com/ https://goo.gl/maps/BEEyCBRN1RAqaCVb9 Details: We will start at 6pm and go until Midnight to accommodate all participants. Minimum Purchase: Two Options - Option A: $29 for 2 cigars, our exclusive Hamlet 25th corona and the store's #1 new cigar of 2018, the La Aurora Hors d'Age. They're both fantastic NC cigars for CC smokers and that pricing works out to about 20% off full retail. Option B: $20 worth of cigars. Drinks: Bring your own Drinks! Cigars: Bring your own Cubans! Buck

If you are in the Chicagoland area today, please stop by the Chicago Habanos Society’s (FoH Club) First Ever HERF! Just outside the Chicago city limits to the North of town in Skokie, Illinois (USA). Date: July 27, 2019 Time: 1pm Location: Big Mike's Cigars in Skokie, IL Address: Big Mike's Cigars 8018 Lincoln Ave, Skokie, IL 60077 (847) 675-2447 https://g.co/kgs/A3Kd12 Specifics: 1. Just confirmed with the manager, Hung, he is a fantastic BOTL! 2. We can bring in our Cuban cigars and smoke them all day and night on the 27th. 3. Everyone is asked to buy a couple of sticks from the humidor as an entrance fee. 4. Or you can just pay a $20 flat fee and smoke your Cubans and buy no sticks if you prefer. 5. You may bring in your own alcohol to drink. 6. They have a large variety of non-alcoholic drinks including coffee that we should all purchase there if we want. 7. I'm guessing we will be there for a while, so no worries if you want to show up a little later. Should be a great time. Looking forward to meeting some of the new CHS crew! Our Club: HERF Probable Attendees: @Habanos2000 @lovethehaze (assuming Baby not yet arrived) @foursite12 @inter4alia @Buck14 @kevpro

Well...what a great Sunday Morning! Firstly, Australia actually won a Rugby Union game 32-8 against Wales. It's a pity no-one in Australia saw it, whether on Free-to-Air or Pay-TV. Then Australia defeated New Zealand in the Four Nations Rugby League Tournament in the UK, 14-8, a game that went down to the wire ! However, I reserve my greatest joy for our dear Irish brothers and sisters who have waited 111 years for their Rugby Union team to defeat the New Zealand All Blacks. Well, it happened today in Chicago 40-29. And what a victory it was! After 18 consecutive test wins, the All Blacks went down. Oh what joy for an Australian Wallaby (the moniker of the Australian Rugby Union team) supporter such as myself! Chris Rattue, the New Zealand Herald Sports Columnist, actually predicted an Irish victory two days ago! If anyone knows him, request lotto numbers! So how good must it be to be in Chicago right now? Cubs win after 108 years, then to top it off, Ireland beat New Zealand in Rugby Union after 111 years. With the large population of Irish-descendant Americans, surely "Irish eyes are smiling!" But my favourite news event this morning is the Wikipedia article on the history of Ireland and New Zealand in Rugby Union. The first paragraph reads thusly... "The New Zealand All Blacks first played against Ireland in 1905, beating them 15–0 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. The two teams have played a total of 29 Test matches, with the All Blacks winning 27 of them. In 2016 Ireland beat the All-Blacks for the first time ever in Chicago. The draw was in 1973 where Ireland and New Zealand drew 10-10 with Ireland scoring 2 penalties and a try, to the All Blacks 2 tries and 1 conversion (A try was worth four points in 1973). During the 2012 Irish Tour of New Zealand, New Zealand won all 3 tests having scored 124 points to Ireland's 29. This tour also saw New Zealand score the biggest winning margin against Ireland in their History. This was due to the 60-0 win New Zealand achieved in the 3rd Test on the 23 June 2012. On the 24 November 2013, Ireland were leading 22-17 against New Zealand in the final minute of the match, and on the verge of their first ever win over New Zealand. Ireland had possession of the ball, but gave up a penalty with under 30 seconds remaining, which ultimately led to New Zealand working their way up the field, ending in the match tieing try for Ryan Crotty with over 82 minutes on the clock. The try was converted at the second time of asking, handing the All Blacks their perfect season. Ireland finally ended a 111 year wait for a victory in Soldier Field, Chicago with a 40-29 victory on 5 November 2016, mere days after the hometown Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years." Kudos to the fellow who edited it this morning henceforth... "Ireland have a 100% winning streak against the All Black's winning every game in November 2016 in the two teams long history of competition (Ireland are the best they beat them on the 5th of November 2016 so who cares) The New Zealand All Blacks first played against Ireland in 1905, beating them 15–0 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. The two teams have played a total of 29 Test matches, with the All Blacks winning 27 of them. In 2016 Ireland beat the All-Blacks for the first time ever in Chicago. The draw was in 1973 where Ireland and New Zealand drew 10-10 with Ireland scoring 2 penalties and a try, to the All Blacks 2 tries and 1 conversion (A try was worth four points in 1973). During the 2012 Irish Tour of New Zealand, New Zealand won all 3 tests having scored 124 points to Ireland's 29. This tour also saw New Zealand score the biggest winning margin against Ireland in their History. This was due to the 60-0 win New Zealand achieved in the 3rd Test on the 23 June 2012. On the 24 November 2013, Ireland were leading 22-17 against New Zealand in the final minute of the match, and on the verge of their first ever win over New Zealand. Ireland had possession of the ball, but gave up a penalty with under 30 seconds remaining, which ultimately led to New Zealand working their way up the field, ending in the match tieing try for Ryan Crotty with over 82 minutes on the clock. The try was converted at the second time of asking, handing the All Blacks their perfect season."

Wife was kind enough to hang with me at Iwan Ries tonight while we were hanging out in Chicago. Totally authentic Chicago smoking room. BYOB. Glasses available for wine and whiskeys. I drank jack, and the wife drank red wine. Target, around the block, has enough of a selection to be dangerous. Don't count on single malts or Far Niente though. Room is a gorgeous time warp of wood paneling and hardwoods with leather chairs and couches.theres a small humidor which would fill in in a pinch just fine, but most brought their own sticks. Tons of history to the building, which I'll spare you all, but don't miss the steel columns by the windows. They're an amazing miracle of preservation, almost lost during a renovation in the 80's. That said, it's nothing too spectacular. It's very much an authentic Chicago experience, walking up a flight of stairs off the street under the El. HVAC was apparently at half capacity due to a maintenance issue, but with a packed house (all three rooms were mostly filed with meetings, casual smokers and a bachelor party) it still performed enough to allow me to enjoy my Bolivar 100%. Apparently they bought a mansion in the Gold Coast district, and are converting it to a smoke shop and various smoking rooms. I heard the smoke shop is only weeks away from opening, and the rooms soon thereafter. Thanks much to Chicago and Richard at Iwan Ries. I felt right at home! I'll be back, likely with my brother an whomever will join. Saint

Thanks coach!!!!