How to make Bay Rum cologne.

A great eco gift for your favorite gentleman (or yourself).

“An old-time barber shop fragrance.”

“Sailors in the 16th century discovered that the West Indies bay leaf made a great perfume to freshen up and mask the stink they acquired while being stuck on a ship for months.”

Burt’s Bees used to be one of my favorite companies for the single fact that everything they made, like say Newman’s Own, had both humor and quality to it. And…yes, they made the only natural Bay Rum cologne I knew of. I used it for 10 years, though they dumbed it down (taking out the cinnamon, cloves) over the years. Then, Clorox bought Burt’s and discontinued the line.

To this day, I still try and buy old Burt’s Bees Bay Rum off of ebay.

Why do I love Bay Rum, so? It’s not synthetic. In fact, it’s been around for centuries.

It’s subtle: it doesn’t smell like alcohol-ee d-baggish Axe-ish cologne. It smells like Man, plus Forest, and it combines to turn evasive beautiful women into cuddle-wanting beautiful women. I recommend it.

Also, as someone who’s 1) incredibly active (I bike, climb, do yoga regularly) and 2) loves vintage cowboy shirts that are, more often than not, made out of stink-crazy polyester, I need the stuff.

And that’s how this here eco bachelor who barely knows how to cook found himself, two days ago, in Rebecca’s Apothecary, buying Allspice and the like.

Now all I need is Jamaican Dark Rum and Bay Leaves (not the kind you get in a grocery, I have no idea where to get ’em) and I’m in business.

Ingredients here.

How-to:

More:

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Bay Rum Aftershave ingredients via Redroots (click for how-to):

• 4 Ounces Vodka
• 2 Tablespoons Dark Jamaican Rum
• 6 fresh West Indian Bay Tree Leaves or Lemon Bay Leaves (I used my lemon bay leaves, Don’t use the bay leaf they sell at the grocery store)
• 6 Whole Allspice berries, slightly crushed
• 1 Stick of Cinnamon
• Fresh Zest from a Small Florida Orange (the zest is the colored part of the rind, w/o the white inner layer (that’s called the pith) You can get the zest with a “zester” , microplane or just use a really sharp paring knife to cut around the orange)

Note from Waylon: I also add star anise and cloves, and don’t add the orange—this is more Burt’s Bees’ style.