It's that time of year again. Cornell & Diehl's Wintertime Reserve is back, and this year's series pays tribute to holiday travel, with four blends each named for a species of Christmas tree and a stop along a long train journey home. As always, these blends aren't something you can simply add to your cart; they're only available from November 1 through December 31 with the purchase of any new Peterson pipe. Chris Herath, Steve Mawby, and I sat down with C&D's Jeremy Reeves to smoke through this year's lineup and talk about what goes into developing a holiday series.

[Chris Herath]: Today we're talking about Cornell & Diehl and Smokingpipes' collab on this year's Wintertime Reserve.

[Steve Mawby]: It's that time of year.

[Jeremy Reeves]: It sure is. 'Tis upon us.

[CH]: We were looking back, and it's been somewhere between five and 10 years that we've been doing this series. What's unique about this series of blends is that it's not something you can just go to Smokingpipes and purchase. It has always historically been tied to a promo on the site.

[Andy Wike]: Yeah, that's correct. These are only available from November 1st to December 31st, with the purchase of a new Peterson pipe.

[CH]: Which we're all smoking. Not particularly new Peterson pipes, but Peterson pipes.

[AW]: They were once new to us.

Our Peterson Pipes

[CH]: Before we get into the blends, do we want to mention which Peterson pipes we're smoking? I personally have the 221. It was a factory second [of the 2024 Christmas series], because these all sold out in 2024. When we were over in Dublin, I was perusing the second shelf as I typically do, and I said, "Glen, I did not get one of these. Is there any chance I can please get this?" Glen was nice enough to gift it to me.

I really love when Peterson does copper like this. With the acrylic fishtail stem, it's really elegant, but then you have the rustication. I think it really pops as a juxtaposition to all the nice, pretty stuff up top, and it's a little more rugged down below. As we get to this time of year, I like to pair it with the more festive blends.

[AW]: Nice. I'm smoking an Ebony Junior. It's a nice, almost Danish Billiard shape.

[SM]: I've got my Donegal Rocky 85. I'm a big fan of the Donegal Rocky series and a big fan of the 85 shape, so this is a perfect combination for me. You can tell it's been used and abused a little bit, because I'm a big fan of this pipe.

[JR]: And I'm smoking one of the 160th Anniversary pipes. I just love the chubby Billiard shape, and this bent Billiard variant was really charming to me. The sandblast is really nice on it, and I love letting silver just oxidize. It's a comforting sort of shape. I have a sandblasted and smooth set of each.

Building a Holiday Series

[CH]: Jeremy, how does this whole series start? When do you start working on these, and what are you thinking about going into a holiday-themed series?

[JR]: First, we try to make sure that we've got something for everybody. We typically have an Aromatic, a Virginia, a Burley, and an English. From there, it's really just finding things that fit with a Christmas theme. With the English, I always feel like a little Burley in the mix makes things a little rounder and warmer feeling than the traditional British Virginia-Oriental-Latakia, so usually our English will have a little bit of Burley in it. The Virginia is typically a Virginia or Virginia/Perique. In any of these styles, I'm looking for something comforting, evocative of sitting in the den by the fire with the family and the Christmas tree.

The Aromatic is always something I want to have a Christmas tie-in in some way, and in this case, we've got a berry that I think is reminiscent of plum and chocolate. There's kind of a raspberry-chocolate thing going on that makes me think of those chocolate oranges. Have you ever seen the raspberry one? That's my favorite, and I'm always hunting for it.

[CH]: I'm not someone who really reaches for Aromatics any time of the year except around the holidays. I think our sense of smell is so tied to the holiday season. As we head into Thanksgiving, I'd assume a lot of people are smoking Autumn Evening, but it sounds like this is one somebody's going to want to look at if they're after a holiday blend.

[SM]: Plus, around the holidays, I'm more likely to be smoking a pipe around family members who aren't usually exposed to it, so an Aromatic is a nice little courtesy instead of my typical Black Irish X. When I'm done with the holidays and I want everybody to leave, I light up the Black Irish X.

[CH]: Bring out the Latakia. Smoke 'em out.

Each year, these feature a different theme that ties the whole series together. This year, it's an homage to the long journey home and train travel, also tied into traditional Christmas trees: Blue Spruce, Fraser, Douglas, and Balsam. So it pairs the species of Christmas tree most people around America use to celebrate with a feature of train travel.

[SM]: It was a really cool design concept this year.

Balsam Pass

[SM]: I'm smoking Balsam Pass, which is the Burley blend with Red Virginia. It's got that classic C&D Burley that you guys are really known for and do really well, but it's also got St. James Perique giving it a little spice and a little more body. I think this is a really good holiday blend.

[JR]: Nice. I think it goes really well with a morning cup of coffee.

Fraser Junction

[AW]: I'm smoking Fraser Junction, which is the traditional Va/Per. I really like this. The first quarter of the bowl was very sweet, with a lot of tang and citrus sweetness. There's a little bit of spice on the retrohale, but it's not overwhelming. It's a really solid Va/Per. Is there a hint of Dark Fired?

[JR]: Just a touch.

[AW]: Just a touch of Dark Fired in there, which gives it a little extra ambiance. It's like a Va/Per you're smoking with a log fire in front of you.

Blue Spruce Curve

[CH]: I've got Blue Spruce Curve. I wanted the English today, because as it gets cooler outside, that's typically what I'm smoking: Aromatics and English blends. I'm a textbook seasonal smoker. I've been really happy with this one, because it's not just a Latakia bomb; you can really taste the Virginias throughout. As a crumble cake, it packs and lights really easily. It's something you can sip on throughout the day, and when you really want to pay attention to it, you can pick up the nuances. It's just a reliable all-day English.

Douglas Crossing

[JR]: I'm smoking Douglas Crossing, and it's definitely reminding me of that chocolate and raspberry. It's mellow, though. I don't think this is a punchy, in-your-face Aromatic. There's a lot of tobacco presence. The Black Cavendish, which is actually our cigar-leaf Black Cavendish, has a really nice roasty, nutty tone. We've got some vintage Burleys and Red Virginia, and then just a little bit of that berry topping, which all comes together to make something pleasantly sweet and subtly aromatic, but pretty tobacco-forward.

Why Crumble Cakes?

[SM]: Another interesting thing about this year's blends is that, with the exception of the Va/Per, they're all crumble cakes, which isn't a super common cut in general, but especially for Aromatics and Englishes. What made you want to go that route, and how do you feel it affects what we're smoking here?

[JR]: I always like using crumble cakes in at least some of these. There's something old-school about it, something that feels vintage to me. But you've also got that little bit of compression that gives you a little more fermentation, particularly in your Virginia or Burley and Perique blends, and actually in the English as well: just a little kicked-up sweetness and a little added richness. And if you decide to set it aside for a while, it'll age a little differently than it would as a loose ribbon mixture.

[AW]: I think that's true for Fraser Junction too, which is the only blend that's not a crumble cake, but it's a ready-rubbed, so it's still pressed.

[JR]: Yeah, you still get that kind of bruised-fruit feel.

The Holidays Are Officially Here

[CH]: So this is officially the holiday season underway at Smokingpipes. Whenever we see these start rolling out, it's a checkpoint: Okay, here we go. It's getting real.

[SM]: It's a nice professional reminder that, one, the holidays are coming up and it's going to put us in that vibe, and two, things are about to get very busy around here.

[JR]: Also, the weather here in South Carolina doesn't really remind you that it's on its way. We often see the 80s on Christmas Day.

[SM]: This was actually my first flannel video of the year, because this morning it was cool enough. When I walk outside, I'm going to regret having this flannel on.

[CH]: So it's officially Steve flannel season.

[AW]: And Jeremy's in denim season, which is all year round.

[CH]: Jeremy, thank you so much for being here today. We always appreciate your insight into what goes into developing a series like this year's Wintertime Reserve. Not that you need a reason to buy a Peterson pipe, but Smokingpipes is giving you another one this year: buy any new Peterson pipe on-site now through the end of the year, and you can select a tin of any of these four blends.

[SM]: And if you want to try all four of them, just buy four Peterson pipes.