Rattray's: Monarch Black Smooth (177) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Rattray's "177" bent Billiard is a sinuous and muscular interpretation of the classic shape, its build marked by a deeply bent shank-and-stem combination. This pairing maintains a distinctive muscularity throughout its high-kicking travel out of the open transition, their steep curvature promising easy jaw-hanging and lending the profile a bit of gracefulness. The bowl here sits atop a lifted heel and boasts a low-set waistline with plenty of plumpness for a comfortable feel in hand, the walls taking on a forward-canting taper to the rim that keeps profile quite dynamic, despite its stoutness. A slight outward push of briar at the underside of the transitional area not only adds additional muscularity, but informs the heel's lift, placing emphasis on the bowl without making the bowl itself overly large.

Rattray's Monarch series commemorates the royal houses of Scotland, from the first King of Alba, Kenneth I, to Queen Anne of the Royal House of Stewart. The series is presented in three distinct finishes across a variety of shapes. Each pipe in the series is fitted with an eye-catching amber-hued acrylic stem and regal metallic accents at the shank end and stem base, evoking the look of a spigot mount but with a standard mortise-and-tenon arrangement and giving each piece a refined air in fitting tribute to its namesake. Like many Rattray's pipes, these are drilled to accommodate a 9mm filter.