I'm no expert nor have I tried all brands (esp. the expensive ones) but based on the ones I've tried or heard about, BRs seem to fall into three general categories: (a) lots of clove, (b) kinda clovish but not bad, and (c) no clove at all. I prefer as little clove as possible so my favorites are below. What are yours? (c) no clove Stephans Superior 70 Oglala (b) old '60s era Avon BR (jug/barrel era...has something resembling clove but isn't really)
Bay Rum I have used Dominica Bay Rum, Superior 70 and Ogallala with Limes and peppercorns. I like all three; however the Ogallala seems to me to be the more refined of the three with the Dominica being more stronger both alcohol content and scent. HOG
The Burts Bees Bay Rum cologne in my honest opinion, is the nicest. In 2nd place, I would rate Pinaud. (my wife hates the both! :happy102 :happy102)
On Burts Bees BR cologne, I think that it's outstanding, and is the only BR cologne that I have used. Aftershaves, I have Clubman VIBR (very clovey) and Master Bay Rum ( a lot less if any clove) and Burts Bees BR. I love the Clubman the best and will sometimes add a dash of Master BR with it. Burts is very nice too, but to my nose it has more of a cedar scent more so than a clove scent mixed with the Bay Rum.
dominica with lime and superior bay rum here been eyeing the bayrum and peppercorn I have the soap and that scent if the bayrum holds true the sopa its a must have
I see 3 BR categories (there may be others): High Alcohol, High Spice: Dominica, Pinuad VIBR High Alcohol, Low Spice: Superior 70 Low Alcohol, Low Spice: Masters, Stephans, TSD And they are all good.
I did not think that I would like Master's Bay Rum because the scent is light IMO but man, I could bathe in that stuff. It is my favorite of all that I have. My wife doesn't care for any bay rum... I wish she did though. Why don't chicks dig it?
Three Family's yes Ones with just scents Ones with some real oils and conditioners Ones made with real rum Two scent Family's The Island scents, "tend" to be a lighter less Clove more Bay scent The Old West scents, "tend" toward the heavier Clove scents These are just my observations over the years...and how I group them Yes my name is Glen, and I am a Bay Rum Addict is this the meeting ????? happy102
I have several. My wife hates Pinaud Virgin. I love the strong scent. One I haven't seen mentioned that is different and I like is St Charles Place "Bay Rum With A Twist". It has a strong lime scent added to bay rum.
I have enjoyed the Superior 70 and the Masters. Especially when mixed with lime and or orange based colognes for a little zing in the summertime.
I have the Ogallala Bay Rum Bonanza Sampler on the way. I think it's going to be fun trying them all out.
I remember sitting in the barbers chair as a child and at the end of the haircut my barber would slap the hot lather on my neck and behind the ears and clean me up with a straight razor. Then he would take a few shakes of this ambosia I knew as Bay Rum and slap that on. It smelled like heaven, but the scent only lasted a minute. That was the real Bay Rum and I remember it to this day. I make my own BR and I have some rules for something to be called Bay Rum. Lots of folks will disagree with me, that's OK. Yeah, I know I'm a Bay Rum purist as you'll find out. I come by it honestly having experienced it as a child. First, it must contain Pimenta Racemosa (Bay) or its essential oil as the primary scent, or it can't be called Bay Rum. The second point is it must contain Rum as the primary carrier. Again, It's Bay Rum. Marketing this sort of Bay Rum means one has to jump through BATF&Es hoops to get their approval. I know because that's where I am at the moment. I removed it from national sales and deactivated the web site, sell it only in Maine and very local sales at that within Maine, and I'm working on ATFs approval to go interstate with it. ATF approval is not easy! Don't even ask the brand name, that could get me into trouble on the forum (I think it would anyway). There is at least one gent on the forum who has used it, but I ask him to not divulge the name so that I don't get into trouble. I don't believe I'm violating forum rules by speaking of this. If I am, just delete the post and accept my apology that I tender now. Real Bay Rum will always smell somewhat of cloves since Pimenta Racemosa is a member of the allspice family and allspice smells like allspices, cloves being one of those spices. The key is to balance all of the scents to give complexity, yet for any one scent to not be overpowering. Done right (IMO) the scent will change over time as some scents evaporate away and others come to the forefront. Real Bay Rum smells intoxicating and like something good enough to eat. Think hot buttered rum scent, or spice cookies. I've smelled BR that smelled exclusively of cloves and nothing else to my nose (Trumpers), some that didn't smell at all of Bay Rum, Ogalala, and others that left me scratching my head as to what they were trying to be. Oh, and one that called itself Old Spice and was more of a Bay Rum than lots of modern Bay Rums. I prefer the real stuff as per my specs above. Those need to be the primary scent and carrier, others can be added as fixatives (gotta go easy there so as not to change the scent), but it can be done. BTW, bay rum, the original BR of 200 years ago, will be a fleeting scent unless it's extremely strong. It can linger if the person mixing it knows a little organic chemistry, but the real stuff of 200 years ago w/o additives will be gone within minutes. The bay rum I've smelled that doesn't smell like BR, I think is due to the over use of fixative scents. A fixative scent is overpowering in order to work and dramatically changes the Pimenta Racemosa scent. Fixative scents are easy to add, but to my mind and self imposed definition, produce something other than Bay Rum. I like mine, but if I didn't I'd make it so that I did. Come to think of it, that's precisely what I did. It is exclusively my scent.