Bay Rum Bay Rum Bay Rum

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.

I think the Fine Bay Rum would be a good add to your collection.  I have two comments for Fine - first, well done   and second, what took you so long?  

Its one of my pet peeves where there is all this talk of bay rum in the promotional and scent notes only to discover no hint of bay rum upon buying and trying it.  Very annoying.  If you sift through this thread you may find the odd rant on the subject.

andrewjs18  I hear what youre saying about sensitivities but I would rather the maker just declare the ingredients and those with issues sit that one out than have a bunch of bay rums where the maker tried to satisfy everyone and ended up satisfying no-one.  Thats usually impossible.  I have some sensitivities as well but pretty mild and so far the only thing that I had a problem with was the T+S Merchandise 7x which was a coca-cola scented soap/splash that I just loved but unfortunately it lit me up like the 4th of July.

I used these this morning, alcohol base first then the alcohol free later. They’re a great blast from the past. I also apologize for misleading everyone about bay rum with menthol!!  The alcohol free HTGAM has menthol. I guess I just forgot. I described the scent of these in the post shave space as a working pirate’s post shave scent because it’s straight up and in your your face. (As well as on your face!) I love bay rum 

So after Marko posted that a little menthol wasn’t so bad in Bay Rum I tried a little experiment this morning. I took a little splash of my Peppermint Skin Food Splash and then waited like 20 seconds and then took a hefty splash of PAA Atomic Bay Rum and layered that right over the Peppermint and not only was it cooling and I liked it but it definitely made the Bay Rum pop and increased the longevity of the Bay Rum. So next I’ll compare it to using a little straight Menthol in and see if it has the same compatibility as the Peppermint which BTW contains about 25 to 30% menthol naturally. So approximately 3 parts Bay Rum and 1 part Peppermint.

This could be a nice option for customers when I release mine. One of the two Bay Rums with or without the added cooling ingredient.

More Bay Rums to choose from is a good thing. 

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.

I think the Fine Bay Rum would be a good add to your collection.  I have two comments for Fine - first, well done   and second, what took you so long?  

Its one of my pet peeves where there is all this talk of bay rum in the promotional and scent notes only to discover no hint of bay rum upon buying and trying it.  Very annoying.  If you sift through this thread you may find the odd rant on the subject.

andrewjs18  I hear what youre saying about sensitivities but I would rather the maker just declare the ingredients and those with issues sit that one out than have a bunch of bay rums where the maker tried to satisfy everyone and ended up satisfying no-one.  Thats usually impossible.  I have some sensitivities as well but pretty mild and so far the only thing that I had a problem with was the T+S Merchandise 7x which was a coca-cola scented soap/splash that I just loved but unfortunately it lit me up like the 4th of July.

I get it, but bay rum is already a niche fragrance, I think, so immediately eliminating potential customers by adding 2 ingredients that have a higher level of sensitives than just forgoing them and trying to find something that can potentially mimic the smell might not make financial sense.

I'm still a no on menthol in bay rums.

I hear you andrewjs18. I have only one requirement for bay rum- do I like it.  I think the biggest challenge for an artisan making bay rum is that there is not a lot if leeway in what is or isn’t a bay rum. There are really very few elements involved so it’s got to be done well. There’s a multitude of ways to make a barbershop aftershave or a fougère. Maybe that’s why the creative types like CL resisted making one. There’s just not enough latitude to express creativity in bay rum. Personally I would disagree but then what do I know.

So both my Bay Rums are pretty much ready to go and just need the labels etc. 

The reason for this post is I noticed if I cut up my Bay Leaves it seems to intensify the scent. I’m tempted to use a stick blender but then the straining process might be a nightmare trying to get all the particles out of the liquid. 

Here’s a photo of some of the leaves I cut up. 
The whole place smells like Bay Rum! In a good way. 

So both my Bay Rums are pretty much ready to go and just need the labels etc. 

The reason for this post is I noticed if I cut up my Bay Leaves it seems to intensify the scent. I’m tempted to use a stick blender but then the straining process might be a nightmare trying to get all the particles out of the liquid. 

Here’s a photo of some of the leaves I cut up. 
The whole place smells like Bay Rum! In a good way. 

That looks wonderful. I wish I was there to breathe in the intoxicating aroma of bay rum. I’m really quite excited about this project Frank.

So both my Bay Rums are pretty much ready to go and just need the labels etc. 

The reason for this post is I noticed if I cut up my Bay Leaves it seems to intensify the scent. I’m tempted to use a stick blender but then the straining process might be a nightmare trying to get all the particles out of the liquid. 

Here’s a photo of some of the leaves I cut up. 
The whole place smells like Bay Rum! In a good way. 

That's a beautiful sight, Dragonsbeard! World can't get enough Bay Rum. I've got a neighbor who loves it so much he decided to grow a bay tree in his yard. Searched up and down for someone who could send him a sapling, but no luck. I wonder if it can be grown from seed?

So both my Bay Rums are pretty much ready to go and just need the labels etc. 

The reason for this post is I noticed if I cut up my Bay Leaves it seems to intensify the scent. I’m tempted to use a stick blender but then the straining process might be a nightmare trying to get all the particles out of the liquid. 

Here’s a photo of some of the leaves I cut up. 
The whole place smells like Bay Rum! In a good way. 

That looks wonderful. I wish I was there to breathe in the intoxicating aroma of bay rum. I’m really quite excited about this project Frank.

Thank you Marko

It' has been infusing for quite some time now and I think I learned a lot about Bay Rum since starting this journey a few months back. I'll post updates but it's next in line and I just finished making the Sandalo Artistico today so as soon as the labels can get to me as we made a couple of changes to the first one we came up with. Plus we had to come up with the Tropical one so soon I'm hoping.

Best regards!