Bay Rum Bay Rum Bay Rum

bourbon or not aside, I used it today before heading into work and could smell it for about 30 minutes before it totally faded out.  that's probably longer than some, but definitely not as long as I wish a bay rum would last.

hopefully the bay rum I'm working on will have some longevity to it. 

Here's the response right from the horse's mouth. Even us Neanderthals get something right occasionally.....

David.  No bourbon is added.  The bay rum is just aged in a bourbon barrel.

  Our beard oil does have bourbon added.

They also just texted me additionally what is below.

Interesting enough.  We are looking to tweak the formula a little bit.  We want a little bit of a more "talcy" feel when it dries.  We are also finally going to get it in the bottle we always dreamed of.  Want to get it tweaked to the level we always wanted.  It never stops.

They sound like Frank Dragonsbeard

bourbon or not aside, I used it today before heading into work and could smell it for about 30 minutes before it totally faded out.  that's probably longer than some, but definitely not as long as I wish a bay rum would last.

hopefully the bay rum I'm working on will have some longevity to it. 

Here's the response right from the horse's mouth. Even us Neanderthals get something right occasionally.....

David.  No bourbon is added.  The bay rum is just aged in a bourbon barrel.

  Our beard oil does have bourbon added.

it's not a big deal to me either way but they should update their website to reflect that.

PAA Bay Rums have received a fair amount of love here. Pasteur is doing a 50% off PAA sale which includes some:

https://helpcenter.pasteurshaving.com/po...2022-09-13

a little birdy told me my 2 scent samples are coming soon for my DFS bay rum.

Frank Dragonsbeard I don’t know how your bay rum is coming along but I wanted to let you know that I am reconsidering my previously expressed opinion regarding menthol in bay rum. That opinion was based on what I thought mentholated  bay rum would be like and not in actual experience. I’ve now had the Fine Bay Rum for a while and it contains menthol. I don’t mind it. As a matter of fact it has grown on me and I can say that I like it a lot. I don’t know if I would say that the menthol makes it better but it certainly doesn’t get in the way of it being a very good bay rum.

Frank Dragonsbeard I don’t know how your bay rum is coming along but I wanted to let you know that I am reconsidering my previously expressed opinion regarding menthol in bay rum. That opinion was based on what I thought mentholated  bay rum would be like and not in actual experience. I’ve now had the Fine Bay Rum for a while and it contains menthol. I don’t mind it. As a matter of fact it has grown on me and I can say that I like it a lot. I don’t know if I would say that the menthol makes it better but it certainly doesn’t get in the way of it being a very good bay rum.

Marko 

I didn’t get the Fine yet but I’ve been on a Bay Rum kick lately and I kept saying to myself I can imagine  one having cooling effect. Traditionally Menthol can effect a scent especially over time but I believe if it is in at a very low level it would be fine as far as effecting the scent and still provide a little cooling effect on the skin. With that said a synthetic cooling agent or some of the new food grade cooling powders could be added that have no effect on the scent and definitely provide cooling. One other options is an natural absolute called Green Mint Absolute. It’ would in my mind fit a bay rum perfectly. I’ll take 3 samples of my traditional Bay Rum as it’s ready and try adding Menthol to one, Food Grade Cooling powder to another and the Green Mint Absolute and see which one works best with the scent. 

Based on my conversations with the owner of Fine ( he lives in in my city ) I’m almost 100% sure he had a large fragrance company develop the  Bay Rum Aroma in his new aftershave as I know he uses them for all his other scents.

 I’ll have to get a bottle as I have a feeling they used Pimenta Racemosa or as it’s sometimes called West Indian Bay essential oil to make their Bay Rum and didn’t do the whole make it from scratch thing with all the herbs and spices and let it infuse for weeks or months thing like some Bay Rums are made. I know that all his other scents are totally synthetic so I was a little hesitant picking one up. 

How does it smell to you Menthol aside comparing it to other Bay Rums you have?  An I know you and @Andrew18 are the Bay Rum experts so I trust your opinions. 

 I’m new to the game but I’m enjoying the journey and have now become a big fan and have 4 or 5 different Bay Rum aftershaves.  I can’t wait to make all my Bay Rum products and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they are at least as good as some of the others out there. 

Best regards!

Dragonsbeard  Good morning Frank. The Fine bay rum smells like a bay rum should. I detect a hint of citrus. No clove for those among us who don’t care for clove. Personally I don’t mind it but I know some have strong feelings.  I don’t mind a professionally formulated scent either if the end product is good. The problem I think a lot of artisans have with formulating a bay rum scent is how to ensure it’s a bay rum while  giving it their own unique twist. There are must have notes and then may have notes. Like it must have bay and rum. Does it have to have actual rum or just notes that most people associate with rum?  The may haves include notes like spice and citrus. If you stray too far from basic ideal you can wind up in the bay inspired category and no longer be a bay rum. Think CL Blackberry Blossom Bay or even CB Barnegat Bay. I think Fine stayed true to the ideal in creating a good quality, refined bay rum scent with the menthol perhaps being their distinguishing twist. When I say refined I’m thinking D.R.Harris’ Bay Rum as refined and Captain’s Choice as traditional. Refined is slightly more subdued so some may find it more suitable for office wear. I tend not to distinguish, however, since (as some like to point out) bay rum tends to dissipate fairly quickly. I view that as a positive because that means you get to reapply it, you don’t want to overwhelm others and you don’t want to tire your own nose. Win all around.

Dragonsbeard  Good morning Frank. The Fine bay rum smells like a bay rum should. I detect a hint of citrus. No clove for those among us who don’t care for clove. Personally I don’t mind it but I know some have strong feelings.  I don’t mind a professionally formulated scent either if the end product is good. The problem I think a lot of artisans have with formulating a bay rum scent is how to ensure it’s a bay rum while  giving it their own unique twist. There are must have notes and then may have notes. Like it must have bay and rum. Does it have to have actual rum or just notes that most people associate with rum?  The may haves include notes like spice and citrus. If you stray too far from basic ideal you can wind up in the bay inspired category and no longer be a bay rum. Think CL Blackberry Blossom Bay or even CB Barnegat Bay. I think Fine stayed true to the ideal in creating a good quality, refined bay rum scent with the menthol perhaps being their distinguishing twist. When I say refined I’m thinking D.R.Harris’ Bay Rum as refined and Captain’s Choice as traditional. Refined is slightly more subdued so some may find it more suitable for office wear. I tend not to distinguish, however, since (as some like to point out) bay rum tends to dissipate fairly quickly. I view that as a positive because that means you get to reapply it, you don’t want to overwhelm others and you don’t want to tire your own nose. Win all around.

Thank you for the information. Sounds like I should pick one up and add it to my collector of Bay Rums.  At one time I was in the camp of little to no Clove & Cinnamon but now I like both variations.  I also hear what your saying about adding so many other notes that it no longer becomes a Bay Rum.  I got a shave soap like that that had the name in the description but it didn’t smell like Bay Rum at all.

Dragonsbeard  Good morning Frank. The Fine bay rum smells like a bay rum should. I detect a hint of citrus. No clove for those among us who don’t care for clove. Personally I don’t mind it but I know some have strong feelings.  I don’t mind a professionally formulated scent either if the end product is good. The problem I think a lot of artisans have with formulating a bay rum scent is how to ensure it’s a bay rum while  giving it their own unique twist. There are must have notes and then may have notes. Like it must have bay and rum. Does it have to have actual rum or just notes that most people associate with rum?  The may haves include notes like spice and citrus. If you stray too far from basic ideal you can wind up in the bay inspired category and no longer be a bay rum. Think CL Blackberry Blossom Bay or even CB Barnegat Bay. I think Fine stayed true to the ideal in creating a good quality, refined bay rum scent with the menthol perhaps being their distinguishing twist. When I say refined I’m thinking D.R.Harris’ Bay Rum as refined and Captain’s Choice as traditional. Refined is slightly more subdued so some may find it more suitable for office wear. I tend not to distinguish, however, since (as some like to point out) bay rum tends to dissipate fairly quickly. I view that as a positive because that means you get to reapply it, you don’t want to overwhelm others and you don’t want to tire your own nose. Win all around.

Thank you for the information. Sounds like I should pick one up and add it to my collector of Bay Rums.  At one time I was in the camp of little to no Clove & Cinnamon but now I like both variations.  I also hear what your saying about adding so many other notes that it no longer becomes a Bay Rum.  I got a shave soap like that that had the name in the description but it didn’t smell like Bay Rum at all.

the problem with clove & cinnamon is that some people are allergic to it and will skip the product immediately if those ingredients are in it.

I personally like both in a bay rum, but when it comes to trying to market a product to the masses, it's probably best to leave them out or find an alternative that's close to them with less allergens.