I'm joined here today by Joshua Burgess, Vice President for Manufacturing over at Peterson. We're going to talk today about one of my favorite annual releases from Peterson: the Christmas pipe.

A Peterson Christmas Tradition

[Andy Wike]: Christmas pipes have been an annual release for Peterson as far back as 2009, making it one of the longest-standing traditions at the company.

[Joshua Burgess]: Right, and copper has continued that tradition for us. That's been a characteristic of more recent Christmas pipes — we started using copper in 2018, if I'm remembering correctly, and it has been featured on Christmas pipes ever since. Whenever those copper bands start showing up in the factory, it puts us in the Christmas spirit and lets us know it's time to get started.

[AW]: Early summer in Ireland, and already thinking about Christmas. The Christmas pipe series has evolved a lot over the years, but since 2018 we've mostly been experimenting with copper, with some silver mixed in here and there. This year is especially interesting, though, since we're doing Deluxe System mounts.

[JB]: The whole concept of a limited edition has evolved a lot at Peterson over the years. In the early days — whether it was a 4th of July pipe, a Christmas pipe, or a Saint Patrick's Day pipe — you'd typically see a fairly standard-issue Peterson with something like a specially engraved band. That was a nice tradition, and one we've harkened back to a few times in the Laudisi era. But more recent limited editions have been defined by a more unique aesthetic reserved for that series, and for Christmas, that's been copper.

Introducing the Deluxe System Mount

[AW]: We've done regular bands, spigots, Army mounts — but never a Deluxe System mount before. Can you talk about how the idea came about? I imagine Glen was involved.

[JB]: He was — like most of our good ideas, it started with Glen, and he was pretty relentless about it. Deluxe Systems are a lot of work, so there was some reluctance on my part to take that on. But Glen prevailed, and he and Giacomo worked through some prototypes together. The design came out looking really nice, and I'm glad we're able to offer Deluxe Systems across a wide range of System shapes this year, from some of our smallest bowls all the way up to the B42 and the XL315.

Why the P-Lip Comes First

[AW]: Another interesting detail is that they're all P-Lip stems.

[JB]: That's right. We do make Fishtail Systems, but if you go back to the original patent, the P-Lip was part of that original design, so it's featured on all of this year's Christmas pipes.

[AW]: It does seem like an intentional effort with limited editions and commemorative pipes these last few years — whether it's Pipe of the Year or other recent series — to really capture the essence of the old patent pipes, with the P-Lip front and foremost. Is that fair to say?

[JB]: I think so. Those of us designing these limited editions are all pipe smokers, and we all like the P-Lip — it's functionally nice, it's deeply part of our history, and I've always liked it aesthetically, too. It's a graceful way to terminate a pipe, with that taper, rather than a flat stop.

[AW]: It also disperses more smoke across the palate, so it's a genuinely different smoking experience. It takes some getting used to, but if you haven't tried a P-Lip before, I'd definitely encourage it — it's a unique, very Peterson way of doing things. Plenty of others have tried to replicate it over the years, but it's never quite the same.

This Year's Finish and Stem Options

This year's Christmas pipe is fully rusticated, and the stain is really striking — rich, dark, and warm, almost burgundy or plum in color. It complements the copper mount really nicely. Stem choices include both acrylic and vulcanite, so you can pick your preference, but all of them feature that Deluxe System mount — a nice full-circle moment, seeing the copper evolution return to a Deluxe System.

Thank you so much, Josh, for sitting down with me today. To everyone watching, leave a comment with your favorite shape for this year's Christmas pipe, and be sure to check them out on-site, available September 16.