Dunhill 2003 Root Briar Dead Root (DR*) Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the “Rolls-Royce” of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

Dunhill has, since its earliest days, always maintained a reputation for offering pipes that were a cut above the rest—pipes that were, for lack of a better word, special. But even among Dunhills, some pipes are more special than others. Ever since the 1910s, the centerpiece of Dunhill’s premium output has been the “Dead Root” pipe, a series distinguished by its unmatched straight grain patterns. Such pipes do not emerge by happenstance; Dunhill’s production staff, from its briar importers to its cutters, and from its bowl turners to those in its finishing department, are trained to look out for and to nurture briar blocks with extraordinary potential right from the point of harvest (and, in some instances, before the harvest, if a particular crop has shown its superiority in previous production cycles). Even with this heightened attentiveness and care for straight grain pipes, nature has its own designs and these designs do not simply bend to man’s whims, meaning Dead Root pipes remain rare, even in Dunhill’s output.

This particular Dead Root comes from 2003 and is an example of a “1 star” grade in the series. Taking the form of a rather large Dublin, it is indeed exceptionally grained, and should make for a real treat for collectors and connoisseurs of the finest English briars.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original box and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6.6″ / 167.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g