Typical bay rum smell

[bassopotamus]

SO I currently have two products labelled Bay Rum, but they don't smell even remotely like each other. One is the Ogallala Bay Rum aftershave, which to me smells like eggnog which then fades to clove. The other is Mama Bear's bay rum soap, which is much more herbal smelling, and much less sweet. Strangely, neither smells much like rum. I was curious if anyone has experience with both or either, and could give me a sense of which was closer to what people think of when they think bay rum.

[rockviper]

I have Benjamins Bay Rum which also provides a pleasant clove scent through the day.

[DogHair]

Bay Rums all have a different scent. Some slightly different others dramatically. Among other things the amount of clove varies quite a bit. I'm not sure which I'd consider standard. Dominica has no clove and is very nice.

[Drewser]

I agree with DogHair. To me, they fall into to camps: one is the pure Bay Laurel leaf scent, which you get with Dominica or Superior70 for example. The other is the spicy rum type with lots of cloves and cinnamon which is where, in my experience, most bay rums fall. Now that I'm thinking about it, there is a third variety- one that doesn't really smell like a bay rum at all, like Master's Bay Rum (which I have to admit I do like).

[fccexpert]

I agree with DogHair. To me, they fall into to camps: one is the pure Bay Laurel leaf scent, which you get with Dominica or Superior70 for example. The other is the spicy rum type with lots of cloves and cinnamon which is where, in my experience, most bay rums fall. Now that I'm thinking about it, there is a third variety- one that doesn't really smell like a bay rum at all, like Master's Bay Rum (which I have to admit I do like).

Actually, true bay rum will not have any bay laurel leaf scent since it is not made from Laurus Nobilis but is instead made from Pimenta Racemosa. Those familiar with scientific names will note that these two trees are not evern remotely related in that they belong to totally different genuses. The genus pimenta includes allspice so not surprisingly, true bay rum has a similar fragrance. To me it is somewhat like a cross between cloves and cinnamon.

[tbress]

I'm a Superior70 fan. I've tried the Shave Den's version of bay rum and didn't like it, it was too clovey.

I think the best analogy is tha bay rum is like root beer. The variation in root beer taste is way more than variations in cola taste, IMO. With bay rum and root beer YMMV. Two people who both love bay rum may hate the smell of the other guy's bay rum.

[Drewser]

Actually, true bay rum will not have any bay laurel leaf scent since it is not made from Laurus Nobilis but is instead made from Pimenta Racemosa. Those familiar with scientific names will note that these two trees are not evern remotely related in that they belong to totally different genuses. The genus pimenta includes allspice so not surprisingly, true bay rum has a similar fragrance. To me it is somewhat like a cross between cloves and cinnamon.

True- my bad. Bay rum is Pimenta Racemosa - the West Indian Bay tree. Bay Laurel is the cooking bay leaf. Good catch.

[Greyfox]

Bay Rums all have a different scent. Some slightly different others dramatically. Among other things the amount of clove varies quite a bit. I'm not sure which I'd consider standard. Dominica has no clove and is very nice.

Yep. That's the only one I really care for.

[fccexpert]

I use Gabel's, it contains only alcohol (SD 40), west indian bay oil, water and color. No cloves, cinnamon, etc. The ingredient list also indicates sucrose octaacetate, but that is a bitterant used to denature alcohol.

[Monkeydad]

Pinaud Bay Rum smells like fireballs.

[kingbarber]

I use Gabel's, it contains only alcohol (SD 40), west indian bay oil, water and color. No cloves, cinnamon, etc. The ingredient list also indicates sucrose octaacetate, but that is a bitterant used to denature alcohol.

I used to make mine with West Indian bay oil, distilled water, denatured grain alcohol (don't recall the specific denaturing recipe), no color, a tiny bit of clove (my customers got me to tweak it way way back to less than half of 1%), and 1% vegetable glycerine as a combination fixative and skin moisturizer. My supplier had me try a batch with East Indies bay rum oil, and although it was a lot more expensive, I couldn't really tell any difference.

Just a thought -- if your bay rum tends to dry your skin out excessively, you could add 1% glycerine (a little at a time) from the drugstore.

And yes, the glass bottle does make a difference.
Some plastics are significantly porous, and let air in through the sides, and over time, the oxygen will change the composition of the fragrance. Glass keeps that from happening. Dark brown or blue glass works best, because it keeps out the light as well, but they only make brown/blue bottles in the boring Boston round style. All the interesting glass bottle shapes are clear.

[rickcharles606]

I'm glad I read this thread because the only thing I dislike about Ogallala Bay Rum & Sandalwood is how strong the clove is, and this was my first experience with a "bay rum" aftershave. Now, I'll buy a few others, Domenica or Gabel's. Thanks Gents!

[GeauxLSU]

I love Dominica. The scent is light and slightly spiced. Has anyone tried the bay run from eBarbershop? Any feedback?

http://www.thegentsshop.com/store/eBcLiquids.html#915

[Viseguy]

I use Gabel's, it contains only alcohol (SD 40), west indian bay oil, water and color. No cloves, cinnamon, etc. The ingredient list also indicates sucrose octaacetate, but that is a bitterant used to denature alcohol.

I love Gabels. Master and Gabels are my two BRs. I have Clubman but can't get into it -- too clove-y.

[frigiliana]

Found this on another forum

http://artofmanliness.com/2010/01/21...um-aftershave/