Bay rum is the name of a cologne/aftershave lotion. Other uses include as under-arm deodorant and as a fragrance for shaving soap, as well as a general astringent.
It is a distillate that was originally made in Saint Thomas "and probably other West Indian islands" from rum and the leaves and/or berries of the West Indian bay tree, Pimenta racemosa. Other ingredients may be citrus and spice oils, the most common being lime oil, oil of cloves and cinnamon. It was first made fashionable in New York and other American cities before it was available in Europe.
Proprietary bay rum lotions are produced by labs in several West Indian republics, as well as American and European fragrance companies.
The bay laurel, the "bay leaves" in common culinary use, are from a completely unrelated species, Laurus nobilis, and not the West Indian bay tree. Bay laurel can be used to produce a similar, although not identical, product.
Famous quotes containing the words bay and/or rum:
“The very dogs that sullenly bay the moon from farm-yards in these nights excite more heroism in our breasts than all the civil exhortations or war sermons of the age.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Yes the Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat—
And there isn’t any call for me to shout it:
For he will do
As he do do
And there’s no doing anything about it!”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)