Peterson: Barley Spigot (406) Fishtail Tobacco Pipe

While the "408" does display Prince-like elements, the "406" is Peterson's definitive take on the classic Prince shape. Seemingly plucked straight from a vintage English catalog, the profile displays the design's characteristically long, slightly downturned stem, informing its reputation for elegance. The bowl is squat and plump, with perhaps some extra heft to its base, per Peterson's signature shaping style, but the shank and transition are decidedly trimmer, catering more to traditional Anglo-French proportions than the robust, muscular aesthetic seen throughout the Irish marque's portfolio.

Along with their signature shaping style, Peterson of Dublin is renowned for their silverwork. The journey of becoming a Peterson silversmith requires years of training and personal mentorship from the factory's senior craftsmen, and the superlative results testify to such a demanding, lengthy process — each worker having engineered his own mandrel to the extent that every metal accoutrement made is imprinted with the subtle, personal style of the one who machined it. Peterson's Spigot line was created in 1977, after discovering an old Peterson catalog from 1906 that pictured pipes with spigot mounts, and the series is among the best at showcasing the Irish marque's signature silver treatment, fitting sterling silver around both the shank end and stem base in a spigot-mount arrangement. The construction provides further reinforcement and durability and highlights even more sterling silver than would be used for a standard military mount. The Barley Spigot series was introduced in 2021 and is distinguished by a natural, virgin finish and crisp sandblast, employing stummels hand-selected for their cleanliness and consistency. Like any other wood or organic material, briar can present natural blemishes and imperfections, making virgin finishes rare, and the Barley Spigot series prioritizes bowls with as few impurities as possible, resulting in a true tanblast that reveals the wood's natural grain in handsome relief without stain. Such a finish accentuates the briar's natural color palette in tandem with the sterling silver's elegant sheen, and these pipes will develop a natural patina as they're smoked, darkening with character to contrast against the silver.