Making Homemade Bay Rum

Cheaper than most store brands to make your own. Plus I like my bay rum the best….
The initial cost of supplies for this:

Vodka 6 oz $10 a bottle = 17¢ an ounce = $1.02
Dark Jamaican Rum, 4 oz $8 a bottle =32¢ am ounce = $1.28
Witch Hazel 6 oz $8 a bottle = 1/2 bottle = $4.00
Bay Oil (Pimenta Racemosa) 28 drops $5 a bottle = pennies
Rosemary Oil 12 drops $5 a bottle = pennies
Spices: cheap…..
= $6.00 plus the cost of spices (let's say $3.00 worth of spices used..which is HIGH!) total = $9.00

$9 for two 8oz bottles of Bay Rum. $4.50 for an 8oz = 56¢ an ounce
Add $2 for the fancy bottle = $6.50 total > Homemade Black River Bay Rum= 81¢ an ounce

Royall BayRhum $32 for 40z bottle = $8.00 an ounce
Captains Choice Bay Rum $18. for 4oz bottle = $4.5 an ounce
Kramperts Bay Rum $15 for 4oz bottle = $3.75 an ounce
Ogallala Bay rum $18 for 8oz bottle = $2.25 an ounce
Pinaud Bay Rum $7.00 for a 120z bottle = 58¢ an ounce

 

Hey! Thanks for the price break down. I am not a drinker so I would have never known. I will make some as soon as I find a quality bottle to put it in and find the oils.

Pinaud is mostly rubbing alcohol, isn't it? If I recall it's a bit cheap smelling.

Quality bottle source?

 

Specialtybottle.com

 

Thank you. Off and running.

 

I would love to try this as I look at the recipe and it looks like it would be a great AS. But if I'm gonna buy everything in Sweden it would be a big investment. Some if the stuff listed is expensive to get

 

Wasting rum?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

Cheap stuff…and in reality, no waste involved. It's part of a great aftershave that I use regularly!
I wouldn't use $40 a bottle stuff, but I suppose one could….

 

I would.. Well, not cry because I'm a man, so I suppose I'd just pout, smoke a pipe, and read the paper.

 

Hey I bought all the ingredients to make this but one question is how many drops of the bay and rosemary oil do I add and I have 7 lines which I will take the zest from and I bought lime oil alsi so how many drops of the lime oil should I add also? I will take pics of mine also after I am done

 

Post#44 has the recipe I used with amounts and suggestions for what I'd do differently.
How much lime oil depends upon how limey you wish the final product to be. The amount of lime zest Im used was I thought fairly substantial, but the effect was subtle. I'd think you could safely add 8-10 drops of the lime oil and not compromise the outcome.

 

Next you need to come up with a good shaving cream lol I like Taylor of old bond and the art of shaving but would be cool to make a homemade one

 

I just finished and it looks brown with a tint of green I added a lot more line zest and oil cause I love a citrus smell and I added a little extra bay oil and some of the other stuff now to wait a month lil

 

…and now the wait begins.

 

I'll be making some of this now. Thanks for the recipe.

If I'd want it to be spicier and more zing what would I do?

 

Add more…..spices!

some bay rums (club mans, for example) have a distinct scent of cloves—which can make all other scents. I chose not to use it. Additional lime & other citrus can also kick it up a notch.

The longer you leave the ingredients to age together, the more the spices and other fragrance-producing items will give up their goods, the more intense the end fragrance will be…up to a point.
If you mean more zing! as in the topical feel, you can omit the Witch hazel with aloe, which helps to 'soften' the effect of the alcohol on the skin. My sensitive, dry skin, however, enjoys the WH in the mix.

 

Thanks!

 

Did you already have most of the ingredients for this?

It would be fun to try this out someday. But I would literally need to buy every ingredient on the list.

I might have some allspice berries haha! Small chance

 

HolyRollah,

We are a few months later. Are you satisfied with your product and effort? I know that your DIY impressed me. I found that the cost of he shipping on the items was quite high. And, finding the correct bay EO in stock was difficult. I stll have a drive to follow in your foot steps though.

I found that the smell of Captains is not long lasting. I was given an aftershave called Whiskey that is a very nice smell but also is short lived on the face. Interesting, is also has a best used by date.

 

Of the original two 80z bottles finished in September of 2013, I am down to about 75% of the second (and last) bottle. This will probably last another 4-6 months. So for the initial investment of time & material, I've made enough to last year & a half…at least, with regular use.
I use the BRBR fairly regularly (maybe 2-3x a week, post shave).

What have I enjoyed about the product?

• The scent—not overpowering, but refreshing, clean-smelling with hints of spice and bay. Nothing 'chemical' or fake about the aroma.
• The feel of the face— despite the amount of alcohol, no sting nor drying effect. I attribute this to both the WH with aloe and the glycerin. it feels great on the face with no residual drying or need to add a balm or lotion. Often I am compelled to use a balm as most aftershaves tend to dry out my skin. Not so with this stuff.
• The knowledge and satisfaction that I made it, and I know exactly what the aftershave contains. My favorite post-shave treatment!

 

This post made the urge of trying to make this AS much stronger