Thread: Bay rum scent

Someone around here had posted a recipe for bay rum a while back. As I recall it was pretty simple stuff, alcohol, bay leaves and a few other things and then just time and filter. No I never tried it and I don't remember what the other things were but as I recall it did contain some rum.

Here is a thread that ya might wanna check out on Bay Rums



http://straightrazorpalace.com/after...arade-atc.html

Hi,

I have just joined your wonderful forum - I hope I can be of great service to you all. I handmake my own shaving products (amongst millions of other things) for both men and women.

Bay rum was once described to me by someone as 'a rough pirate smell!!' very true actually!! it is a bit alcolholic with an aniseedy clove type smell - very christmassy!?!

I have a good range of stuff in my shop but always make special orders so if you want a shaving oil that smells of licorice allsorts - that is what you get!!!

Have a look in www.scentfromheavenonline.com and let me know what you think.

Kim

The original Bay rums were concoctions made of rum, and bay leaves. The individual makers would add whatever they had on hand that smelled good to give it something extra.
This all blossomed out of the rum trade in the 17th century.

"The shipping of molasses to make Rum in New England distilleries became part of the infamous "slavery triangle." The first leg was the shipment of molasses to New England to make Rum. The second leg was the shipment of Rum to the ports of West Africa to trade for slaves. The final leg was the passage of slave ships to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean and South America where many of the slaves were put to work in the sugar cane fields."

There are several variations to this "route", but the basic principal was that the traders at that time didn't bathe, the slaves they transported weren't allowed to use the bathroom, and things got stinky. The Bay tree was called spice tree, and sailors would often keep some because it would over power the stench of the ships. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to add it to his ration of rum.

The simplest formula for bay rum would be to add bay leaves or berries to a bottle of rum, and let it sit in a dark place for 6 to 8 weeks.

Some of the less expensive bay rums are little more than a watered down grain alcohol with bay oil and coloring added.

For a spicier bay rum, you can add cinnamon, cloves, lemongrass, citrus oils, peppercorn, nutmeg, vetiver, or any other scent of choice. I've even considered adding pine to it.

Let it all sit, in a dark place, and experiment. You can always add more ingredients to it. when you've got the scent where you want it, add some glycerine, and you're good to go.

BTW for those of you that don't know, Mike Ratliff makes a fantastic Bay Rum himself
He was kind enough to send me some to sample, and I gotta say it is right up there with the best out there......

Shameless promotion of a fellow SRP members product, hey it's good stuff, what else can I say.....

"Hi my name is Tony and I'm addicted to Bay Rum."

When things settle down here, I may have to try making my own...would definitely be interesting, and I love Bay Rum also. I've heard that Str8razor tried making his own, maybe he'll chime in.

Mike, can you add anything to make the scent longer lasting? The homemade ones I've had so far are short-lived scent wise.

I agree that Royall makes a very good Bay Rhum. I prefer theirs over most I have tried.

Originally Posted by foundlingofdollar

Mike, can you add anything to make the scent longer lasting? The homemade ones I've had so far are short-lived scent wise.

use essential oils instead of natural ingredients to start with, EO's are simply more concentrated.
secondly, give it longer to absorb all of the scent into the rum. 8 weeks should be a starting point.
I allow mine to sit until I've sold almost all of the previous batch, which is often well over 8 weeks.
The addition of a carrier such as glycerine, or a tiny bit of sweet almond oil will keep the scent on your skin longer, and will act as a moisturizer.
and use a good quality rum, I prefer Bacardi Select, it just seems to work better for me.

I have a bay berry bush in my back pasture, it's a native Indiana plant, and it smells great. Do you think it may produce a similar scent to bay rum, or would be worth experimenting with?
Say if I were to buy a pint of bacardi select, take a couple pulls off of it, and then fill the remainder back up with the leaves and berries. or am I talkin' crazy talk?