Rattray's: Dark Ale (109) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Rattray's "109" design is a moderately sized, thoroughly traditional Billiard that displays an upright bowl with a sturdy heel underneath. It fits in well to the Scottish marque's classic shaping style and is one of several straight Billiards featured on Rattray's shape chart. The "109" is significantly smaller than the massive "147" and a tad larger than the compact "100" nosewarmer, making it a perfect, middle-of-the-road choice for those who prefer traditional shapes with well-balanced proportions.

Inspired by the brown ales that originated in England and Scotland, Rattray's Dark Ale series presents pipes in a color palette similar to those dark beers. The smoky, dark walnut stain remains just light enough to still expose the briar's grain pattern, reminiscent of the namesake imbibement and not as dark as, say, a stout or porter beer. Complementing the smooth stain, then, is a cumberland-hued acrylic stem, the similarly dark hues separated by a flashy chrome band for handsome, accenting flash.

Note: While all of our other pipes are photographed individually, these are not, and you may expect some reasonable cosmetic variation between the example we've photographed and the pipe you've received.