Peterson Halloween 2026 Rustic Briar Pipe 87

• Overall Length: 147mm
• Overall Height: 40mm
• Bowl Height: 40mm
• Bowl Diameter: 36mm
• Bore: 19mm
• Weight: 31g
• Filter: None
• Gift Boxed
• Cloth pipe bag included

Peterson Halloween 2026 Rustic Briar Pipe 87 Some pipes look as though they belong beside a roaring fire in a country gentleman's study. Others look more at home in the possession of a Victorian undertaker with a suspiciously well-stocked cellar. The Peterson Halloween 2026 Rustic 87 belongs rather firmly in the second camp, and I think it's all the better for it.

This year's Halloween collection sees Peterson combining black rusticated briar with vivid red acrylic, creating a striking appearance across several of the company's established shapes. The 87 is a particularly handsome example, its rounded bowl lending the design a rather different character from the taller Billiards in the series.

The 87 is a Straight Apple, a traditional shape distinguished by its rounded bowl, gently curving sides and relatively compact proportions. Where a Billiard has a more upright, cylindrical appearance, the Apple has a softer, fuller outline.

That distinction is especially noticeable here. The bowl swells around its middle before drawing inward towards the rim, giving the pipe a pleasantly rounded profile. The straight shank and long tapered stem provide a pleasing contrast to those curves.

Peterson has finished the briar in a deep, almost coal-black rustication. The carving is wonderfully irregular, with pronounced ridges, hollows and overlapping patterns running around the bowl and along the shank.

Look closely at the photographs and you'll see that the texture varies considerably across the surface. There are broad, sweeping cuts around the upper bowl, deeper recesses towards the heel and smaller, closely packed ridges along the shank.

It's the sort of finish that rewards a closer inspection. One side looks quite different from the other, as the carved surface catches the light across its uneven contours.

The bowl rim follows the same rugged treatment, giving the opening an irregular, hand-worked appearance. Against the rounded Apple shape, this rough exterior creates an attractive contrast between the familiar silhouette and the more dramatic surface.

And then there's that red acrylic accent.

Positioned between the shank and stem, the broad glossy band is a vivid scarlet red, decorated with black flowing lines. The effect resembles dark veins running through polished red stone, and it provides a striking interruption to the otherwise black pipe.

The mouthpiece is a long, polished black taper, finishing in a traditional fishtail. A small red Peterson P sits on the side of the stem, tying the whole colour scheme together rather neatly.

Peterson's roots stretch back to nineteenth-century Dublin, and the firm has spent generations refining the familiar shapes that pipe smokers still recognise today. The Straight Apple is among those enduring designs, appreciated for its comfortable curves and pleasing proportions.

For the Halloween 2026 edition, the company has given that traditional shape an entirely different wardrobe. Beneath the black rustication and scarlet decoration, however, remains a classic Peterson Apple.

I particularly like the way the rounded bowl works with the dark carved finish. It has something of the appearance of an ancient, weather-beaten object unearthed from a forgotten corner of an old house.