I've been using Barberry Coast bay rum after shave and shaving balm for about a year now. A little on the pricey side, but a very clean, masculine scent and has a refined bay rum scent with hints of allspice, cloves & vanilla. Really top notch.
Which is your Favorite Bay Rum Aftershave
- Thread starter Vintage Doc
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Wet Shaving Products
Gabels is my favorite. True retro Barbershop. You can also jack it up with a dash of VIBR but I like it just the way it is.
I originally purchased Dominica bay rum from Orvis, when they first carried it, around 16 or 17 years ago. Love the scent and have purchased several bottles over the years. I lost track of it when they stopped stocking in store - around seven years ago. Came across their web sight and ordered directly from them - in SanDiego. That was around the first part of summer. Happy to have it on hand once again. As long as I was paying for shipping I tried the lime scent - nothing to write home about, stick with Dominica's bay offering.
While I enjoy the scent of Dominica bay rum, I have to say I do not care for it as an after shave at all. Not sure where that came from, using as an aftershave. It's not marketed by the manufacturer as such - and for me, does not function well in that role. I seen reviews on it, both loving and denouncing for aftershave purposes. So -varying mileage there. Still love having it around to splash on before heading out the door!
Just not right after shaving.
Quite surprised Kramperts Bay rum aftershave has yet to be mentioned. Top shelf in both scent and performance. I find the matching shave cream/soap (definitely a croap), to be of high quality as well. One of my favorites. I can Recommend both to any bay enthusiast on scent alone. While the scent will last a bit longer than Dominicans, it does not last for hours after application. Luckily both perform as top tier products for me, and the bay rum scent closes the deal.
While I enjoy the scent of Dominica bay rum, I have to say I do not care for it as an after shave at all. Not sure where that came from, using as an aftershave. It's not marketed by the manufacturer as such - and for me, does not function well in that role. I seen reviews on it, both loving and denouncing for aftershave purposes. So -varying mileage there. Still love having it around to splash on before heading out the door!
Just not right after shaving.
Quite surprised Kramperts Bay rum aftershave has yet to be mentioned. Top shelf in both scent and performance. I find the matching shave cream/soap (definitely a croap), to be of high quality as well. One of my favorites. I can Recommend both to any bay enthusiast on scent alone. While the scent will last a bit longer than Dominicans, it does not last for hours after application. Luckily both perform as top tier products for me, and the bay rum scent closes the deal.
It also goes very well with Lustray Spice but, like you said, I like it just the way it is, too.
Can't beat the scent longevity, moisturizing performance and price point of these two Bay Rums.
Dominica is by far my favorite Bay Rum
I've just tried Honeybee Gardens Bay Rum
First impression reminded my a lot of Mennen Skin Bracer, which is an aftershave I like
After dry down it smells different, but it doesn't remind me of any of the Bay Rums (Boots & Pinaud Clubman) that I've tried, but it's still a nice aftershave
First impression reminded my a lot of Mennen Skin Bracer, which is an aftershave I like
After dry down it smells different, but it doesn't remind me of any of the Bay Rums (Boots & Pinaud Clubman) that I've tried, but it's still a nice aftershave
Dominica has also been #1 for me, followed by Derby City Chop Shop's Small Batch version.
For a non-alcohol splash, Bey Shave Tonic has been a terrific aftershave.
Isn't the Bootlegger's Bay Rum made up of Clubman VIBR, Master Bay Rum and Superior 70 Bay Rum? I only get about an hour of Clubman VIBR as a skin scent. Master Bay Rum is said to be weaker, and Superior 70 is mainly alcohol. How can the longevity be that good if two of the ingredients have less fragance oil than Clubman VIBR?
YMMV for anyone I suppose, but most experience anywhere in the range of 2-8 hours of scent longevity, depending on how liberally one applies it.
Even with just your single hour, it can/will compete with many other higher priced Bay Rums.
Are you sure about that? Why is Master, which has very few ingredients in it's list, considered weaker than PVIBR which has cinnamol, a ton of clove and several other spices. I think, if you only fairly compare Master Bay Rum's simple ingredients of which Bay Oil is it's only scent, you might actually find it as strong or stronger to other brands with similar basic ingredients.
Some can and will confuse, a simple, basic Bay Rum, as weaker, just because it has less. But that doesn't actually make it so. Just makes it less. But you are correct, Superior 70 is mainly alcohol. But I challenge you, to find another alcohol based aftershave, that doesn't have at least 40% alcohol.
So if you think about your actual statement, all alcohol based aftershaves are mainly alcohol. What you need to understand about Superior 70 and it's higher percentage, is the fact that it takes at least 60-70 percent alcohol in order to preserve a natural or essential oil.
Most alcohol based aftershaves with just 40% alcohol have other chemical or synthetic preservatives in addition to the alcohol. Superior 70 only has alcohol to preserve it's all natural Puerto Rican Bay Oil. And this is the reason for it's high alcohol content and why many use it not only as an aftershave, but also a medicinal astringent.
The PVIBR in Bootlegger's Original Bay Rum, does wonders for Bootlegger's longevity of scent. But it also, doesn't have a drop of Bay Oil on it's own. And while it's toning and bracing capabilities are thru the roof, it's moisturizing abilities, lack of authenticity of a real bay rum and intense clove, are also thru the roof.
The very reason I used Master to tone those things down, while giving it a healthy shot of pure bay oil of which Master and S70 have plenty of. And the S70's alcohol content, tones down the huge helping of glycerin that is in Master, keeping it from being to sticky on the dry down.
The Bootlegger's Wiki, which was so generously and expertly crafted, by the one and only Vez2, explains all of this in detail. If you haven't read it, you may have missed the point for the creation of Bootlegger's Bay Rum and do not realize, that all three of the individual aftershaves you mentioned, are quite good in and of themselves, all by themselves.
But all three of them individually, lack a key character trait, which would make any of them perfect. So it only made sense to mix the three which when combined, take on a "Synergistic Effect" and the finished whole, is better than the sum, of it's individual parts.
And did I mention, not for a whole lot of money?
It makes me glad that many people like Bootlegger's. I hope you are one. If not, there are many other quality bay rums you can choose from. Just maybe not as cheap. For a scent as fleeting as Bay Rum tends to be,
I like cheap.
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My favorite is Superior 70 Bay Rum.
The passion for bay rum in this thread has prompted me to order a bottle of captain's choice. Hope it's awesome. I've never had a bay rum anything before.
Then do yourself a favor and order the sample set of Ogallala bay rums, Bay Rum with Limes and Peppercorns or the Double Strength Special Reserve Bay Rum Cologne. His shaving soaps are great smelling, too.
My new favorite is Derby City Chop Shop. It smells more like spicy vanilla than bay rum, to my nose, but it's awesome stuff. I also like PAA Bay Rum (no clove!) and Captain's Choice Co9T.
I love the stuff. The Captain's soap is also great, and the perfect match. I just ordered a bay rum shampoo bar and bourbon bay rum bath soap from an artisan maker in NM. Can't wait to treat myself to a bay rum morning later this week!
When I first ordered a sample of CC BR AS a year or so ago I didn't like it. It took a little while to come around to the scent but it's been a favorite for many months now.
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