Rattray's

Rattray's is a brand rooted in a tobacconist's shop in Perth, Scotland, known first for its blends and, over time, also recognized for its pipes. The brand's founder, Charles Rattray, never made a pipe of his own; the pipes bearing his name were commissioned from other workshops, an arrangement that continues today, which is why Rattray's is seen less as a factory than as a name and a taste line.

The Perth Shop

By the records, Charles Rattray was born in 1880 and raised in Dundee, where the tobacco trade was strong; it was there that he also learned blending. In 1903, at twenty-three, he moved to Perth and began working at a tobacconist's shop on the city's main street. He bought the same shop in 1911 and put his own name on it. Sources sometimes use 1903 and 1911 interchangeably; the first is the date he arrived in Perth, the second the year the business truly came to be known under the Rattray name.

Like most tobacconists of the period, Rattray did not just sell ready-made tobacco; he blended his own at the back of the shop. Over time this became the shop's true identity. His signature Scottish-style blends were developed on a line balancing heavy Latakia and oriental tobaccos against Virginia; within the community Rattray is counted among the names who brought this style to maturity. Some of the blend names were carried forward to later generations through the brand.