Dunhill: Cumberland (4605) (2023) Tobacco Pipe

Stretching out to nearly ten inches long, this "4605" Churchwarden Dublin from Dunhill is a rare piece from the English marque, one of the very few examples of this profile that we've seen from the White Spot. One of the most striking elements of this pipe's construction is its stem, taking the form of a lengthy, extended taper with an extremely long bit, slenderizing the aft section of this pipe quite a bit and placing the majority of the visual weight at the fore. The stummel here features a sleek shank that ebbs out of a wide transition, the shank and stem balancing a fairly tall bowl that flares to its rim from a firm heel. Dressed in the crisp, rugged sandblast of the Cumberland series, this piece features ample texture for the fingers to enjoy and plenty of handsome grain, the palette unified by its brindled stem.

When Alfred Dunhill released his patented Shell Briar, he forever changed the pipe-smoking world at large. Dunhill has often been credited with being the first to offer sandblasted pipes (arguably the most popular finish today), and the Cumberland finish further displayed Dunhill's innovative spirit. Well received after its release in 1979, the Cumberland series was named for the English marque's warehouse on Cumberland road, and the line's signature, brindled vulcanite stem became so iconic, the warmly striated material is now referred to simply as "cumberland."