Peterson: St. Patrick's Day 2023 Rusticated (338) Fishtail Tobacco Pipe

Peterson's iconic shaping style is often described as "tubular" and muscular, and the Irish marque's "338" bent Billiard does well to exemplify this convention — being the same design as the "313" but outside of the System series. The bowl rises tall and upright, posing a cylindrical, tube-like disposition, while the shank and transition retain the aforementioned hearty and robust proportions. That said, the overall length remains quite compact, and the sinuous bend provides a comfortable clenching posture — the gesture of the stem and curling heel calling to mind the profile of the iconic "05" shape but without the bowl's flare at the rim.

Peterson's longest-standing annual release, the St. Patrick Day series has been a perennial favorite since 1998, and 2023's edition marks the iconic line's 25th anniversary. Fittingly, the Irish marque returned to that first St. Patrick's Day release for 2023's limited-edition offering: Each St. Patrick's Day 2023 pipe bears a tricolor accent of green, white, and orange to honor the Irish flag's recognizable pattern, and it's the same accent that embellished the first St. Patrick's Day pipes in 1998. The 2023 edition, however, is available in three distinctive finishes — Peterson's signature, hand-tooled rustication; a dark sandblast; or a smooth chestnut version — with the smooth and sandblasted examples bearing vulcanite stems inlaid with Peterson's metal "P" logo, while the rusticated pieces are paired to acrylic stems. Moreover, the smooth and sandblasted St. Patrick's Day 2023 pipes are serialized out of the total 1,200 examples crafted in those finishes and are completed by Peterson-branded bags fashioned from tweed woven by Kerry Woolen Mills — a manufacturer of fabrics and garments in the southwest of Ireland whose history dates to the 17th century. Such a diverse array makes the 2023 edition among the most expansive and memorable, the perfect way to celebrate half a century of Peterson's St. Patrick's Day series.