Bootlegger's Perfecto Review

As many of you know, our fellow B&B member, OkieStubble, developed a blend of equal parts Master Bay Rum, VIBR and Superior 70 that he calls Bootlegger's Bay Rum. He has been working on a different version of that blend, and I am honored to be the "guinea pig" if you will. His new blend is called Bootlegger's Perfecto, which contains among other things a tobacco note. I was asked to try two versions, Perfecto #1 and Perfecto #2. My first try was #1. I first noticed a fresh, slightly soapy note along with bay, spice, and a very light, in the background note of light leaf tobacco and citrus. I also got a light powder scent as well. The face feel was very nice, not too much burn and not too drying or sticky; just about "perfecto" in the performance department! The scent hung around lightly for a couple of hours. I also asked my wife and sons their opinion, and their answer was "Nice." That would be my best description as well.
Next, of course, was #2. With this one I got a strong scent of light leaf tobacco, and some bay, with the tobacco being more in the forefront. I also noticed, after a couple of hours, the lingering scent of leather. The face feel and performance of this one is just about "perfecto" as well. I quite liked this one, and asked my family their opinion as well. My wife described it as "Cheap, like you might smell on someone at WalMart", and my son just replied, "I dunno". I disagree with my wife, I didn't get the cheap thing at all, but apparently HER mileage may vary! Perfecto #1 and #2 are both good, the main difference being how much tobacco you like in your scent. All in all, nice work by OkieStubble! Thank you!

Thanks for the review Patrick! I'm glad you liked them.

OkieStubble said:

Thanks for the review Patrick! I'm glad you liked them.

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You're very welcome. It's was nice to find something with a new twist on an old classic. But now you have me wondering what these "new classics" are made from!

There are several other members who will be trying out the test samples for Bootlegger's BR Perfecto. Once there is a favored consensus for one of the particular samples. The recipe for Perfecto will be posted in your thread. I want to thank you again for assisting me in this endeavor and for giving your thoughtful opinion and excellent review of the two candidate samples of Perfecto.

OkieStubble was generous enough to send me some samples of Perfecto 1 and 2 as well. As soon as I got them I opened up the bottles and sniffed. The first thing I noticed from 1 was the citrus. As for 2 the first thing I picked up was the leather. In fact upon first whiff I immediately thought, "This is English Leather, with everything English Leather is missing!" It's strange how our noses work since what Patrick picked up last, I picked up first yet I didn't at first notice any of the other scents he mentioned.

After my shave this morning I put on some Perfecto #1. I picked up the citrus the strongest, but then I noticed the bay rum beneath it and a slight hint of tobacco. I never got to the powder part, maybe because this one faded away very quickly on me. There wasn't much burn to this one at all (that or I had a VERY good, irritation free shave this morning), but it wasn't oily or sticky to me either. I'm going to give it another go tomorrow before I move on to Perfecto #2.

I went another round with Perfecto 1 yesterday and my opinion is still the same. Great!

This morning I tried Perfecto 2. At first I of course smelled the leather like before, then bay and spices followed by tobacco. I may be crazy, but I thought I picked up a slight hint of citrus in there, but it was very faint. For a moment I thought to myself that this shares some similarities with Tabac, but that wasn't it. Then it hit me, this is like a toned down more friendly version of Pinaud Special Reserve! I really like that since I wanted to like SR so much, but it was just way too strong. Again, not much burn at all and not oily or tacky. This one did have much more staying power than Perfecto 1.

I honestly can't decide between the two of them. Perfecto 2 is very nice and interesting and I liked it a lot, but I wouldn't wear it every day. I'd probably stick to this one when it's cooler outside or maybe even while riding the motorcycle because the stronger leather scent I think goes well with that. Perfecto 1 OTOH is more of an every day scent that I could get away with wearing year round and would still be able to wear cologne without worries of the scents clashing. One idea I had today while thinking about the scent qualities of the two and how difficult it was going to be to choose a favorite was to keep both around. Sticking with the cigar theme Perfecto 1 could be referred to as Bootleggers Perfecto Virginia with its citrus and lighter scent and Perfecto 2 could be called Bootleggers Perfecto Maduro with its leather and spice and darker heavier scent.

Great review wolfmaniii! I was going to just have one official Bootlegger's recipe for the most favored Perfecto. But the votes on the best version from those who recieved samples have been split down the middle.

So in appreciation of Patrick's, Vez and your efforts, here is the official recipe's of Bootlegger's Perfecto Virginia and Bootlegger's Perfecto Maduro.

Perfecto Virginia: Equal Parts- Master Bay Rum + Superior 70 + Vito's Colonia Tobacco

Perfecto Maduro: 1/3 Master Bay Rum + 1/3 Superior 70 + 1/3 Vito's Colonia Tobacco + 1/6 Special Reserve

Neither of these had PVIBR that is in the original Bootlegger's, as I was going for a light and breezy summer time bay rum. But if you like the heavier Maduro for colder weather, I would think the clove and cinnamol in the PVIBR would just make the maduro mix even better for colder weather with increased longevity. Adding a 1/3 or 1/6 depending on how much of a richer mix you wanted.

I meant to reply last week but I didn't get around to it. I just wanted to say thank you for posting your recipes and taking the time to experiment with these.

I'm glad you enjoy them!

Is the Vitos hard to find? I've got everything else to make these.

Yes, It seems it is impossible to find.

No one seems to have it.

My favorite of the series.

As folks are aware, Vito's Colonia Tobacco has become unobtainium. One of the Bootlegger's blends that appeals to me is the Perfecto, but I lack the Vito's Colonia Tobacco.

I do have a bottle of Crusellas Tobacco and plan to make up a mix using that as a substitute. I'll informally refer to it as something else: Bootlegger's Aproxo, perhaps. I won't know how the result will compare to the actual Bootlegger's Perfecto Virginia or Madura, so I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with those two tobacco colognes and can describe their differences. Or even just offer your description of Vito's Colonia Tobacco, since I can't find it described anywhere online. From some of the descriptions of Perfecto here, Vito's seems to have a citrus component. I don't get that from Crusellas Tobacco (or tobacco).

Thanks for any help offered.

-Dan

Vito's Tobacco is impossible to find. Probably discontinued. I have not experienced Crusellas Tobacco. When I created The Perfecto Virgina, my intent was in trying to create a light, breezy, summertime bay rum that while still having a masculine scent, wouldn't be the heavy clove and cloying spice most are used to experiencing when using bay rums in the colder months.

The light green Virginia tobacco and the orange citrus in the Vito's was the perfect combination for the unspiced bay rums of Master and Superior 70. I wouldn't mind substituting and even using the 'Bootlegger's Brand Name' in a different tobacco in place of the Vito's if it were a lighter tobacco and gave the mix the synergistic reaction that has become a qualifying factor for a bootlegger's brand concoction.

I have been very busy with real life as of late, but I have been wanting to experiment with finding a replacement for the Vito's in the Perfecto concoctions.

Yeah, I've searched online high and low for Vito's Tobacco and it is just not available. It sounds like something I'd appreciate as I'm interested in scents with notes of tobacco. I just bought a reasonably priced EDT called Bogart Pour Homme By Jacques Bogart that has a wonderful aroma of cherry pipe tobacco. And boy is that stuff strong too! There's another EDT with a tobacco scent (unsmoked cigarettes) called The Dreamer by Versace that I might like too, though it's pricy so I won't buy it blind...have to find someplace to sample it first.

But back to inexpensive aftershaves. I did make up a few ounces of Bootlegger's Perfecto Virginia using the Crusellas Tobacco, and I like it! The spiciness of the Superior 70 and Master Bay Rum is there. The Crusellas Tobacco, to my nose, has a musk and patchouli scent, with a bit of powder as it dries down, and I think it plays well with the other two. I don't get tobacco or citrus in Crusellas Tobacco so my blend has probably diverged a fair bit from the original Perfecto Virginia, but I don't think it's heavy for warmer weather. I'll probably see how it works as a version of the Perfecto Maduro by adding some Clubman Special Reserve. Another thought is the addition of a small amount of Agua de Portugal, Clubman Eau de Portugal or Murray & Lanman Orange Blossom Cologne -- all inexpensive -- to get some of the orange citrus that you say the Vito's adds to the mix.

This is fun!

Yeah, it's sad that the Vitos Colonia Tabacco is unavailable. It's such great stuff. I have the small 120ml bottle, of which half a bottle is used to make 1 batch of Bootlegger's Perfecto. I'm using it sparingly, cause I only have enough to make 1 more batch. And this is probably my favorite of the Bootlegger's Bay Rum blends. Hopefully Rob stumbles on a suitable replacement, or better yet, The Vitos returns to the US!

Just be sure to not call it "Bootleggers", if it's not an OkieStubble approved recipe!

I am sure Rob would appreciate a sample for his consideration.

Already offered privately.

danielrhall said:

Already offered privately.

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You da' man!