Arrived: My Peterson Saint Patrick's Day 2015 XL90

A few years ago I ordered my first St. Patty. That was oh... way back in 2013. Seems like a lifetime :D That pipe was also my first Peterson, and in fact one of my first pipes. It was an XL90 shape, and I found it online and had to have it. Upon receiving it I fell completely in love with that pipe. That particular pipe smoked like a champ from the very beginning. There was no long breaking in time that you hear about with Petes. I loaded her up, set fire to her, and she smoked like a dream. That pipe is to this day my best smoker. I decided back then I would make it a tradition to get a St Patty XL90 every year. I almost didn't last year as I wasn't a huge fan of sand blasts or rustication. But some members here helped convince me to keep my new tradition alive. I'm glad I did. I ordered last years sandblasted black XL90 and I'm quite happy with it. It's not the smoker my first one was, but it gets the job done and seems to prefer balkan blends. It really is a nice looking pipe with it's black sandblasted finish and green rim.
Fast forward to the not so distant past.... A couple months back, teaser photos began showing up here and there online of the 2015 pipes and once again I was in love. Partially smooth with a dark green stain, and partially rusticated in black, Peterson really stepped up the game in terms of style. The thick nickel band with the shamrock and year are gone this year. I was somewhat disappointed about that but I have to admit to myself the pipes probably look better with the band they used this year. The two tone nickel and green band goes great with the new look and finish of this years pipe.
I have to say, if you've been looking at these online and haven't ordered one yet, the pictures really don't do them justice. This pipe is just beautiful. The grain shows through the dark green stain reminding me almost of the look of ghost flames on a hot rod. When the light hits it just right the grain pops and is quite striking. Taking it out of the sock I just held it and admired it for a bit. Then I took it outside to see how the grain looked in the natural sunlight... wow... and then of course I looked at the drilling. This pipe is drilled dead center and passes a cleaner quite easily.
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All in all so far I'm quite pleased with this pipe. I have yet to give it the most important test, loading it up and lighting it up. I'm not sure if I want to smoke it tonight, wait until the St. Patty's Day 2015 tobacco comes in the mail, or even wait until St. Patty's Day. Likely I'll not be able to wait that long. In fact it's quite possible I'll be loading it up in just a short while tonight. I will let you all now how it smokes.
Oh... and of course the box is nice too...
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Thanks guys. Like I said above, the pictures I've seen of them online don't do the pipes justice. My own photos above don't do the pipe justice. I guess it's not very photogenic, but beautiful in person.
I decided to go ahead and load it up with some Queen Anne's Revenge which came in my order today as well. I've been wanting to try this blend for quite some time now and finally ordered some. So.... a brand new tobacco in a brand new pipe, and so far it's heavenly. The pipe's smoking beautifully, and the tobacco is quite tasty.

Well, Darthcider, I really wanted to wait but I couldn't :lol: It's ok though, I'm just considering it a preview smoke.