Thread: Bay Rum for Real

I've tried different bay rum or bay rumish soaps and I like some but not others. Some are too spicy for me or clovey or something. Is there a consensus on a product that represents "real" bay rum --- some standard or something.

Justin

Dominica Bay Rum after shave by C.A. Trading Co. is top quality, but as far as soaps go I have never met a bay rum that I truly loved!! I personally have used Col. Conks Almond shave soap for the last 15 years and only occasionally try other soaps!

You can actually make your own bay rum. Its not hard. There was a recipe around a here awhile back. Basically its rum, bay leaves ,water and I don't remember what else. I think the CA Trading is the most authentic you can buy.

You could always give talk to Colleen. She makes a Bay Rum with Orange, so you could probably talk tot her about making something without the orange scent.

With regard to making your own bay rum. Consider that the Dominica BayRum aftershave tonic is an aromatic liquid originally prepared by distilling the leaves or berries of the bay rum tree in the West Indies . Pimenta racemosa

A lot of the make your own BayRum's commonly use a mixture of oil of bay (from a bayberry),Myrica pensylvanica

Several unrelated plants with similar names are often confused with the tonic bay, but you might not want to substitute them.

Noble bay--it's botanical name is Laurus nobilis , after all-- is an evergreen related to camphor and sassafras trees. Now this is the cooking bay leaf also known as sweet bay and laurel while camphor does lend itself to a lot of shave products I doubt it is what you are looking for unless you are making a pasta sauce or garni.

California bay ( Umbellularia californica) , which grows in the Western U.S.
Cherry laurel ( Prunus laurocerasus ), for example, produces leaves with a bitter almond flavor, which can be poisonous.