Bay Rum
Taylor of Old Bond Street

Bay Rum by Taylor of Old Bond Street (1854) is one of the inaugural products sold at the age-old barber supply shop, alongside it's famous shave creams, sandalwood oils, and early hair tonics. Used mostly as an after-shave in those days, or a deodorizer in place of more-modern deodorant products, bay rum in those early Victorian years was more utilitarian than fine fragrance, much like early eau de colognes, lavender waters, and witch hazel. Taylor of Old Bond Street Bay Rum is a very basic, unadorned bay rum from the period, and may feel cheap because it is cheap, coming in a 150ml plastic bottle. That's sort of the point though, so I won't take marks off as such; this is akin to a Clubman product by design.

Like a lot of old aftershaves, this uses castor oil, which imparts its own odor. Anyone who has smelled things like Gilette Cool Wave (1994) or older products such as Victor's original After Shave (1947), which is ostensibly scented with Acqua di Selva from the same year and house, will recognize it. The bay note is obvious and up front, while the clove is subdued but less sweet than products from Clubman or St. Thomas, making Taylor's bay rum feel older somehow, as sweetness is usually the hallmark of modernity these days (or at least American-ness to say the least). The rum itself is also very present, although I wouldn't go swigging this if I were you. Performance is expectantly fleeting within a few hours.

Overall, don't expect insane levels of sophistication with this one, because you just won't get it. This is a simple, traditional, semi-dry British take on the antique bay rum craze that stormed up from the Caribbean to the Americas starting in 1838, before hitting Europe by mid-century. If this cost a ton of money, I'd be more critical, but it stays true to its pragmatic roots, and smells pretty good for what it is, unadorned as it is. Not a whole lot else to say. If you want a no-frills bay rum, and are tired of the usual plastic bottles you find in the drug store, go grab this plastic bottle instead, and enjoy something that remains what I presume to be unchanged for the most part after a century and a half. Thumbs up

A nicely-balanced basic bay rum. For once, the mighty clove is well-tamed; the price you pay for this here is low power and so-so longevity, maybe 3 hours or so with a generous application. For those using this just as an aftershave splash, this may not be a disadvantage. Furthermore, it is, at least in the UK, quite inexpensive and comes in a large bottle (150ml and 250ml). Probably the best of the British bay rums (cough).

To me, there's nothing wrong with Taylor's bay rum other than the plastic bottle. It's softer than Trumpers or D.R. Harris and wears very well. The only thing I don't like about it ... plastic bottle.Taylor's Lavender Water (can't find it anymore) is in a cheap plastic bottle, but is (or was) pure ambrosia. Not perfumy, just the essence of Lavender. Where'd it go?

Quite a poor, cheap bay rum. The bay note itself is okay but it is packaged up in a rather unsubtle, drugstore aftershave accord and lots of castor oil.Get the Trumpers Bay Rum, its beautiful stuff.