The pirates life for me! It is mid-Spring, and we are in the Renaissance Faire time of year. With this in mind, I recalled a recipe for bay rum I saw in the book “All-Natural Perfume Making“. Although the peak age for piracy came just at the end of the Renaissance era I figured this was a perfect opportunity for a fun experiment. The book states that the exotic scent was made by sailors in the West Indies and Caribbean using bay leaves. At first, the Pirates perhaps rubbed the leaves upon themselves, but then figured out they could make a liquid cologne if you will by infusing the bay leaves in the rum. After that other Caribbean influences were added including spices such as clove and cinnamon.
Bay Rum
- 4 cups white rum
- 2 cups bay leaves
- 8 cinnamon sticks
- 16 cloves
- 4 sliced vanilla beans, chopped in half
Combine all ingredients in a large glass jar and cap it tightly. Label the jar. Gently shake the ingredients daily or at least every other day for about 4-6 weeks.
Here is what it looks like Day one:
After the 4-6 weeks strain the herbal extract through a piece of cheese cloth over a mesh strainer into a wide mount jar of measuring cup be sure to squeeze all the remaining liquid out of the herbs then compost the herbs.
Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract to the Bay Rum is ready to be used at this point so bottle it and be sure to label the finished product with what it is and the day used within a year for highest potency.
This is what the finished product looks like after 6 weeks.
We decided to take a drink of the finished product before making it into an aftershave. The end result was very stout. The vanilla, cinnamon, and clove make for a sweet spicy blend grounded by the bay leaves.
Next, in order to turn it into an aftershave I added some witch Hazel and essential oils. My husband has a shorter beard and has been using it as an aftershave splash and he loves it. Using it along with my beard balm Works really well. The aftershave reduces shaving bumps and irritation, and the beard balm conditions the beard part.
So if you’re curious about the Pirates life try this recipe out.
