Bay Rum Bay Rum Bay Rum

So hope triumphs over experience once again. I got this Duke Canon Bay Rum body soap recently and to my dismay (but not surprise) it smells nothing like bay rum. It’s a mild, generic soap scent. Not bad but not bay rum.  I guess Duke Canon ascribes to the “who cares what it smells like, call it bay rum and guys will buy it school of thought”. They aren’t alone. I suppose they figure if they don’t know what bay rum is supposed to smell like, nobody else will either. It can smell like whatever they want. So sad. It’s such a big bar of soap too and I don’t know if I can handle the weeks of daily disappointment it would take to use up this soap when I have other, better bars of soap sitting there in the que.  I know, what was I seriously expecting from Duke Canon Supply Co.? They’re a novelty brand whose products are renowned for size not quality. In my defence I plead…bay rum!!? 

Oh, and by the way, it doesn’t smell like citrus musk island spice or cedar wood either!

Marko

Your rant is similar to mine.  To me if it says Bay Rum on the label then it should smell like Bay Rum and contain the aroma ingredients that make a Bay Rum. Same with many other Scents. If it’s called Lavender on the label it should smell like Lavender and contain Lavender. Same with Sandalwood. Probably the most misleading name on a label. If the aroma is a complex blend and doesn’t smell like the lets Bay Rum then come up with some fancy name.  Example, Tom Ford Oud Wood.. the name indicates that there’s Oud and a wood oil of some sort. Nope not one drop of Oud/ Agrarwood oil or any wood oil like Sandalwood or Cedewoo. So why call it Oud Wood? Again come up with a cool name or something. As you said the problem is a lot of people don’t know what real Bay Rum smells like.  I’m with you on this.

Yup, I’ve come to the realization that not only do a lot of people not know what bay rum smells like, they don’t even realize it’s even a fragrance. They must think it’s just a cool, masculine shaving term like Burma Shave. Seriously? How hard can it be? There’s bay and there’s rum. It’s not rocket surgery. That’s the basic recipe then there’s a few other things you can add to jazz it up and make it unique. Like Tortolla.

Monday October 16, 2023
Razor: Gratiot Krect Spiral Curve Slant
Blade: Wizamet
Brush: Spartan Custom/Cashmere
Soap: Ethos Bay Rum
AS : Ethos Bay Rum SFS
Fragrance: Paco Rabanne 1 Million
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1,805

https://youtu.be/WAN8ryajxXg

I purchased a bottle of Thor's Hammer recently. High quality stuff but for me it is much too cinnamon forward. A few seconds after applying, I got a slight whiff of Pimenta Racemosa. It vanished quickly and was purely cinnamon for hours and hours. If you're looking for a long lasting cinnamon AS, Thor's Hammer might be for you. As a Bay Rum though? Nope.

I purchased a bottle of Thor's Hammer recently. High quality stuff but for me it is much too cinnamon forward. A few seconds after applying, I got a slight whiff of Pimenta Racemosa. It vanished quickly and was purely cinnamon for hours and hours. If you're looking for a long lasting cinnamon AS, Thor's Hammer might be for you. As a Bay Rum though? Nope.

Each to their own, but I consider Thor’s Hammer to be a bay rum and I like it. We could take all of them on a case by case basis like for example Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum - if it had been in an unmarked bottle the first time I smelled it,  I wouldn’t have thought, “now there’s a nice bay rum “. It’s a bay rum in name only in my opinion.  That said, there are people who consider it their favourite bay rum.  I suppose rather than saying this or that is or isn’t a bay rum we could say I like or dislike this or that bay rum.  Some bay rums are riffs on a theme while others are from an entirely different song book. Maybe we need a certification authority? I nominate me!  

I had to restock on some PAA goods, so I included samples of their Clasico Bay Rum and Boomtown Bay Rum. I'll report back on what I think of those. I have tried their Atomic Age and was profoundly unimpressed. Hoping for better luck!

I had to restock on some PAA goods, so I included samples of their Clasico Bay Rum and Boomtown Bay Rum. I'll report back on what I think of those. I have tried their Atomic Age and was profoundly unimpressed. Hoping for better luck!

I like almost all of the PAA bay rums. Not so much Boomtown because of the leather scent. I think it’s well done but I’m just not a leather fan.

My favorites so far:

Royall Bay Rhum (the original, not the current 57 stuff)
Captains Choice Bay Rum
Meehans Bay Rum (but it's definitely not priced for everyday usage!)

I like my Bay Rums to be unadulterated. Straight Pimenta Racemosa.

If you’re a bay rum fan, and why would you be on this thread if you aren’t? , then go check out CaD314 latest post announcing the release of Space Nog. This is one of my favourites. It’s got a lot going on but it’s a bay rum to the core. 

My favorites so far:

Royall Bay Rhum (the original, not the current 57 stuff)
Captains Choice Bay Rum
Meehans Bay Rum (but it's definitely not priced for everyday usage!)

I like my Bay Rums to be unadulterated. Straight Pimenta Racemosa.

Is this the original?