Rum and whisky as aftershave, reviews

Thought I would try using Whisky as an aftershave and Rum as I bet the cowboys and highlanders did this!
anyway having a scientific type of mind I thought I would post reviews.
i am going to work my way though my drinks cabinet with reviews.
Please feel free to request certain drinks and share experiences or ideas.
i have planned, Jamican Rum, Spiced Rum, several single malts including my personal fav Islay malt, and a pear snaps- Huruska, then I'll try some bourbon.


Ok first review- Captin Morgans Jamaican Rum as an aftershave.
Cost: £15 a litre
Alcohol content: 40% by vol ( I think that is equivalent to 80% proof US? )
Brief. Going to shave as normal then use rum as post shave aftershave, giving marks for alcohol burn, eliminating razor burn, 'feel' scent and after effects, clearly scent and feel are highly subjective but I'll include them anyway along with any notes.


1. Captin Morgans Jamaican Rum
Cold water prep as normal ( I use cold water for everything except oddly to rinse the razor during the shave, the blade edge feels coarser with cold- don't ask me about the science I have no idea )
Soap was D R Harris Almond
Razor was Merkur 34c HD blade an untitled Israeli blade ( part of a sample pack )
Two passes, WTG & ATG
Notes. A damn fine shave this morning, one tiny graze/nick from a prior pimple.


Ok the Rum- used less than a shot, about a tablespoon full like a generous splash of aftershave,
Alcohol burn: low, much lower than my usual AS ( Geo F Trumpers Lime AS )
Eliminating razor burn: good, I usually got some irritation if I don't use some form of astringent, no irritation after.
Feel: pleasant, slightly alcohol warming at first fading to slightly cooling ( evaporation? ) no real sting, not sticky or anything, all gone around the 2 minute mark leaving no scent, according to my nose or wife's.
Scent: as expected Rum! Quite pleasant ( even though I have 5 or 6 glasses last night... ) faded very quickly, surprisingly clear after one minute.
After effects: not overly moisturising, I normally use AS and a skin food but skipped the skin food today. Didn't overly dry my skin either though so no problems.
Thoughts: happy to use this as an AS with two caveats-
I don't need a scent or will apply one separately
2. Might continue to use a skin food also as I previous have.

.....won't you smell like you've been on an all night bender???

I love the Smell of black bush (insert bad taste joke) but I think if I came into work smelling of it I'd be told go home and don't bother coming back.

I remember reading a story about a baseball player who got a haircut and shave, ending with a large dose of Bay Rum AS. The story went that Connie Mack thought he'd been drinking and fined him on the spot.

Honestly the smell was gone really quickly, the wife couldn't smell it at after about two minutes!
even when I got hot later it still didn't smell. I guess the alcohol evaporates quickly and as there is no oil in it, it does not linger?

Try mixing up a Mojito without the simple syrup in a mason jar. Let the limes, mint and rum get to know each other for a good couple of weeks, then strain it through some coffee filters. Good luck!

That's is something I definetly might try.

Whiskey or Rum AS + Straight Razor = BEAST!

Of course, it can also be applied internally:

Love the background music in the video!

I was kicked back on the back porch this afternoon, sipping a Brut and tonic as I checked B&B. I must say this sounds like an excellent idea.

Ok shave number 2. Glenmorangie Single Malt Burgundy Wood Finish Scotch Whisky
cost £39 a litre, alcohol 43%
A delicious single malt matured in Burgundy 'barriques' from Cote D'Or, pretty good for drinking, so whats it like as an aftershave?

The shave: Another cold prep shave, My Dovo Blackstar straight razor, D R Harris Almond soap, Semogue 1305 boar brush, two passes WTG and ATG.

Notes: not my best shave to be honest, I've had near on 20 shaves from the Dovo since it was last honed ( I dont have a hone ) and its edge is suffering and it started to skip and pull a little, time to send it away or buy a hone stone ( any suggestions for an all in one stone?)
anyway a bit rough 2 small nicks and likely some razor burn on the neck area, like I said- not my best shave

As ever i used about a tablespoons worth of Scotch and slapped it on

Feel: bit more sting than the rum but again less than my usual AS, again warming at first fading to gentle cooling, nice.
Scent: scent was pleasant with hints of woody oak, although again faded very quickly ( about 2 mins ) completely gone after 4 minutes or so.
After effects: no razor burn on neck area despite expecting it, so I feel it is good at eliminating razor burn. A touch drying though, slightly more so than the Rum but no worse than my usual AS (Trumpers lime)

Notes: Again I used happily use this as an AS although would want to use a moisturising component also, like skin food etc.

Additional- I though the biggest issue with this would be scent but there is no issue there as it it completely gone before I even leave the house, I got to the office within 40 mins of shaving yesterday and nobody noticed anything. The main problem is with moisturising- I often used a moisturiser before this test and miss it a bit.
Finally I am going to try to source some white rum to try the suggested Molito receipt! love the sound of mint and lime mmm..

Tonka, thank you for being the brave soul and trying this for yourself. I have always wondered how real spirits would treat your face after a shave. TBH, some spirits are cheaper than AS lol.

Sounds like a waste of perfectly good booze to me...

OK shave number 3
Todays Aftershave is Laphroaig Islay a single malt scotch whisky, 10 years old.
£45 a litre, Alcohol 40%
A smoky, oily, peaty monster of a malt, probably the most richly flavoured of all scotch whiskies and a personal favourite.
If you are not familiar with Islay malts then a brief word of explanation is in order- Islay is an island off the coast of Scotland, I guess with only a limited supply of trees, so they burn peat instead, this gives the whisky a very distinct character, which smells phenolic or a bit like TCP to those who don't play with chemicals for a living. The richness of taste puts your there, on the moor, knee deep in black earthy peat, wind in your face, carrying the smell of smoke and the tang of brine...


Anyway I digress, The Shave- cold prep.
Merkur 34c HD, Mitchells Wool Fat Soap (love the smell, struggle to make lather as hard water area?) horse hair brush, (vie-long, so-so TBH)
A fine shave, smooth, easy and carefree (so carefree in fact I nicked myself)
two passes WTG, XTG.


as usual I slapped on the whisky-
Feel: less sting than anything so far, quite mild, about half that of my normal AS, also pretty much went straight to 'cooling' v pleasant.
Scent: Really different, hint of whisky with shovel-fulls of phenolic peat, wow! stronger than either previous beverages. Also although the whisky scent faded again in under 2 minutes the phenolic peat lingered! still lingering after two hours! note the wife did not identify it as whisky, when asked she said it was a medicinal smell. I liked the scent and like the fact it lingered, leads me to wonder if there really is a bit of oil in it?
After effects, not so drying as the other whisky, quite neutral in fact, although I got hot an hour later walking and got slight tingle on my neck area, as though preceding irritation, but nothing developed.


Notes. A clear winner if you are looking for the scent and low burn, a loser if you don't like the peat smell (you heathen!)
As a personal note, I am not sure I will buy aftershave again given this experience, these are extremely low cost for aftershaves and are more...ah... flexible...

Rodeoflyer said:

Sounds like a waste of perfectly good booze to me...

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I bet people said that to the guy who mixed up the very first bay rum concoction. Fortunately he didn't listen to the naysayers.

Hendricks gin might be nice & refreshing...I wouldn't mind if its cucumber & rose notes stuck around for a couple hours either.

just make a bay rum aftershave. I mean the leaves and cloves have the oils that u seek. drop in some fresh cut aloe (available anywhere where mexican produce is found) and you're good. My grandfather used to make his own aftershave with rum. cheap white rum, cloves, laurel and lime tree leaves from the backyard, few black pepper balls. mmmm. used to love the way it reaked from the outhouse bathroom

ricardo9505 said:

just make a bay rum aftershave. I mean the leaves and cloves have the oils that u seek. drop in some fresh cut aloe (available anywhere where mexican produce is found) and you're good. My grandfather used to make his own aftershave with rum. cheap white rum, cloves, laurel and lime tree leaves from the backyard, few black pepper balls. mmmm. used to love the way it reaked from the outhouse bathroom

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sounds amazing

This must explain why my "boss" comes into work each morning, clean shaven, yet reeking of booze.


AA

A little Jäegermeister behind the ears and you are all set.

Good post! Keep em coming!