English Estates: Dunhill Christmas Pipe 2014 Cumberland (5128) (54/300) Tobacco Pipe

A special Dunhill series in and of itself, the English marque's Christmas Pipe is an annual series featuring a limited run of special briars accompanied by book-style presentation cases and specifically designed tampers cast in sterling silver. Dunhill's latest Christmas series, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, was introduced in 2011 and ran until 2022. The series is inspired by the popular children's story by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann as well as the famous ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This particular edition from 2014 is number four within the series and focuses on Fritz, the son of the Stahlbaums, who is most well-known for breaking the nutcracker that would later transform into his sister's Prince.

The shape itself is the marque's "5128" Diplomat, a stout interpretation of a classic shape which is seldom seen from most pipe makers. A wide transition here gives way to an oval shank, one of the profile's iconic elements, and this shank is paired to a demurely curved tapered stem that offers a comfortable smoking posture and elegant sense of flow. The shank and stem combination support a plump, robust bowl at the fore, complete with a broad, low-set waistline that marks the start of tapering, curvaceous walls which gently cant forward as they rise to the rim. Comfortable in the hand and handsome without question, this edition of the White Spot's Christmas Pipe comes dressed in the crisp sandblast and warm stain of the Cumberland series, complete with the line's matching brindled stem. Included is both the book-like box and the silver tamper, with the tamper taking the form of Fritz Stahlbaum himself, who grins as he clutches the Nutcracker behind his back.