The Bootlegger’s Brand
About Bootlegger’s
The Bootlegger’s “brand” is the brainchild of B&B member OkieStubble (Rob). The idea behind Bootlegger’s is to mix a few common aftershaves together to create a synergistic* blend that is well rounded and on par with more expensive brands. The real beauty of Bootlegger’s aftershaves is that they are made with inexpensive aftershaves, so you can make a great performing aftershave for a very low cost. For example: A batch of Bootlegger’s Bay Rum will average around $0.70 per ounce (depending on your source for materials). Most of the common and popular brands of Bay Rum on the market today average between $3 and $10 per ounce!
OkieStubble rates aftershave in 3 main areas: scent, longevity, and skin feel. If an aftershave is lacking in one of these three areas, or it would help an otherwise lacking aftershave to achieve greatness, then it is a candidate for mixing. That and it needs to be inexpensive. Expensive aftershaves should stand alone on their own without any “doctoring”. He spends a lot of time researching & experimenting in order to find just the right mix, before finalizing the recipe and ultimately giving it the Bootlegger's moniker**.
* What is "Synergistic"?
Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects or parts. The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia meaning "working together".
**A side note on the use of the name “Bootlegger’s”:
OkieStubble came up with the moniker "Bootlegger's" to describe his recipes. He spent many hours toiling away in his lab (shave den) mixing and sampling aftershaves to achieve just the right balance before posting his recipes on B&B. While there is no trademark or copyright on the Bootlegger’s name, OkieStubble is well known in the B&B community for it. In fairness to OkieStubble, other folk's aftershave mixes and recipes should not be labeled as Bootlegger's.
OkieStubble rates aftershave in 3 main areas: scent, longevity, and skin feel. If an aftershave is lacking in one of these three areas, or it would help an otherwise lacking aftershave to achieve greatness, then it is a candidate for mixing. That and it needs to be inexpensive. Expensive aftershaves should stand alone on their own without any “doctoring”. He spends a lot of time researching & experimenting in order to find just the right mix, before finalizing the recipe and ultimately giving it the Bootlegger's moniker**.
* What is "Synergistic"?
Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects or parts. The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia meaning "working together".
**A side note on the use of the name “Bootlegger’s”:
OkieStubble came up with the moniker "Bootlegger's" to describe his recipes. He spent many hours toiling away in his lab (shave den) mixing and sampling aftershaves to achieve just the right balance before posting his recipes on B&B. While there is no trademark or copyright on the Bootlegger’s name, OkieStubble is well known in the B&B community for it. In fairness to OkieStubble, other folk's aftershave mixes and recipes should not be labeled as Bootlegger's.
Bootlegger’s History
Bootlegger’s beginnings go back to late 2010 when OkieStubble mixed up a batch of PinMaster Bay Rum (50/50 Pinaud Virgin Island Bay Rum & Master Bay Rum), that he had read about on B&B. It was good, but he still felt it was lacking something. After trying other bay rums he had at home (that weren’t quite right), he discovered Superior 70 Bay Rum at his local Walgreens. When he added Superior 70 to the PinMaster he realized that it was exactly what he was looking for. When looking for a suitable container to decant his concoction into, OkieStubble found an Avon “Little Brown Jug” aftershave decanter which is shaped like a moonshine jug and has “XXX” printed on the side. It looked to him like a jug that a bootlegger would use, and so he called it “Bootlegger’s Bay Rum”.
In May 2011, OkieStubble posted his recipe for Bootlegger’s Bay Rum, for the first time, on Badger & Blade. TheVez2 (KJ) had tried PinMaster Bay Rum and was intrigued by OkieStubbles’s Bootlegger’s recipe, but could not locate Superior 70 Bay Rum locally. OkieStubble PIF’d a bottle of Superior 70 Bay Rum to TheVez2 in June of 2012 and an unofficial partnership began. Over the next few years, OkieStubble created and posted about several new blends he created. TheVez2 sampled all of OkieStubble’s creations and provided valuable feedback along the way. His blends have gone through minor changes in recipes and the names changed slightly over the years, but he always made sure the recipe was perfect before he published it on B&B. In April 2014, OkieStubble decided to label all of his creations under the Bootlegger’s moniker, officially solidifying it as a brand. In late 2014, OkieStubble officially appointed TheVez2 as the Bootlegger’s CEO. This was due, in part, to his valued input in product testing and the recipe finalization process, but also from his fanatical devotion to, and unwavering support of the brand.