Virgin Island Bay Rum

Epic Journey Into the Bottled Yonder, 005 ------------------------------------------------------- Purchased November 2013 This was the first serious business scent I had purchased with my own cash in 2013. Everything before that was gifted to me. It had become that ridiculous the gifts became shitter and shitter. I had to grow up some more, become the man I wanted to be and use my inspiration to smell better than everybody else. Being a wet shaver now with the double edge blades and soap mug I had begun to figure it out. This is the scent that threw me into the hobby, that I can have more than one scent for regular use. Enter Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum. Holy shit does this thing transform, especially over the years. A hell of a lot of cinnamon to my untrained, at the time, nose. But I've always had a nose for good scents, instantly can pick out what's good. To me, scents smell like what's in the bottle. I don't smell "notes". My mind instantly clings to a picture of the bottle as I smell a respective scent. But this one was spice loaded and heavy on the cinnamon. But years later I finally figured out that this actually smells like the beach and/or ocean, like a true epiphany I was able to throw away my outdated mental association and smell what the fluid was really made of. A truly intense vibe of the beach; it's slightly salty and sandy, it's boozy with the rum, and hello clove. While I did prefer Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements' Atomic Age Bay Rum for a while and it's superb to many other fresh-ish, challenging marine frags, I ended up coming back to the original from Pinaud Clubman and further appreciated what's in it. Folks, Virgin Island Bay Rum is not for the winter nearly at all, it's a summer powerhouse when the mood strikes for maximum marine effect. Not a blue scent at all, it invented blue scents decades before the first one. People will hate you for over splashing this one. What you need to do here is do quick pour motions around your face and all around your neck. Do not focus on one area and over-saturate the fuck out of that spot, spread it out using the bottle without dabbing it much and let it run down your face and neck so it's evenly applied around your head and not concentrated in one place. That's how the clove/cinnamon/spice builds up. There's no cinnamon in this, but certain people will think it's what you've got on if you do it wrong. Nothing worse you can do than to misrepresent yourself and the bottle.

This aftershave/cologne has a very long history going back over a century in the West Indies. People in the Carribean routinely used (and still use) it. Apparently it was first created when sailors and pirates in the Carribean would mix bay leaves with rum (which they already had in abundance) and pour that over themselves as a cologne, to hide body odour due to being away at sea for months at a time. So this is technically as authentic as it gets if you want to smell like a pirate. To my nose, the opening smells a lot like bay leaves mixed with rum, lots of cloves, and a hint of cinnamon. Out of these, the rum and cloves in particular are pretty noticeable in the opening - and I enjoy the scent of both. As it dries down, the rum is dominant along with bay leaves (the cloves and cinnamon become more subdued). It's very old-fashioned and masculine, and suited more for winters than summers in my opinion. Sillage is moderate but leaning light (resembles the sillage of any eau de cologne), while longevity is pretty amazing for this type of fragrance on my skin at over 6 hours, and then as a skin scent for around 4 more hours. If using this right after shaving, it provides a very nice burning sensation to the face as well; in fact more than my other aftershaves. Overall this is quite enjoyable as an cologne and aftershave with quite a decent amount of lasting power (in fact it's basically a cologne; it lasts far more than my other aftershaves) and more old-fashioned (in a good way) than the modern "sport" aftershaves that all smell the same. The scent of this is so unique and it has a long heritage going back over 200 years, and a large bottle of this will cost you very little money. For these reasons this is one of my favourite colognes. 5/5 P.S. Word of advice: add a few drops of lime essential oil to this and the scent goes from good to INCREDIBLE.

Rum? Check. Bay leaves? Check. Spices? CLOVES CLOVES CLOVES!!!!! Now I'm a big fan of the warm spicy scents so I knew I was going to love this; but it's even funkier than I imagined. Let's get the negative out the way of first. Longevity is poor. You might get an hour if you're lucky; and that's if you soak yourself in a good few handfulls. But that's to be expected. It's a traditional gent's splash on. Sillage is just moderate, get your timing right and everyone will know what you're wearing. Anyway, at about £5 for 50ml you can afford to chuck it on. Back to the smell though, and it's a winner. The first big hit is the rum, unmistakable thick and heavy old rum. Big sniffs and you can also pick out the bay leaf swimming around. You have to be quick though, because in no time them cloves pounce. This is seriously spicy. Nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon, they're all there acting as understudy to those killer cloves. Apparently there's oakmoss in here as well but I think it must have drowned. Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum - a cheapie masterpiece.

To my nose this is the best bay rum; it's about as cheap as you can get as far aftershave goes; and, most importantly, my wife loves it. It's pretty linear, which can be said about pretty much all bay rums. What differentiates Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum from the rest is that it's heavy on the clove and has a soapy musk-y note in the base (musk isn't listed, but I definitely get consistently), which makes this bay rum the longest lasting bay rum, hands down. In a world of short-lived bay rums V.I.B.R. is the exception to the rule. It's great, it's cheap, and it's an excellent fall to early spring scent. I highly recommend it.

Captain Jack Sparrow at your service...How have I not reviewed this? Before designer fragrance became an influence, this wet shaving classic was my go to staple. Spicy clove, bay leaves and rum, heavy on a clove and cinnamon notes. At one point this would frequently draw compliments, and it costs next to nothing to pick up. After a shave, slap this on, let the tears run on high (this burns like no one’s business) and enjoy the bold manliness that is Bay Rum. Their are many alternative Bay Rum takes out there, all thus far being pretty good, but this for me is a classic staple, highly recommend this timeless classic.

I've been wanting a cinnamon bomb for a while. I've considered a lot of options, even some of the big spicy orientals from the 80s, but I stumbled on this while clicking around on Amazon. This is exactly what I was looking for. The cinnamon is strong, but the clove in this is probably stronger. I can walk around smelling like a living Djarum Black cigarette. If you apply enough it has a wonderful numbing/cooling effect from the eugenol. Splash it on with abandon – the instructions are on the bottle. What a wonderful surprise.

A real Christmas aftershave. Straight off the bat you get rich hot cross buns with cinnamon and clove coming in and then a rum lingers on afterwards! So nice to have a frag with doesn't apeshit with the sweetness. This doesn't project and doesn't need just a sits close on the skin for an hour or so making to perfect for an aftershave. Don't expect anyone to smell you, except maybe someone giving you a hug. 8/10 P.S. decant this if you get it as I feel the plastic interferes with the juice.

So I ordered a 177ml to try it out based on a youtube recommendation and I fell in love. It the smell is extremely fresh and it calms me. I was expecting it to be a little stronger which is my only complaint. 9.5/10. I will order two 355ml bottles now as they barely cost more for twice the juice and will put this every night before bed as I love it so much.

I once owned a bottle of Royall Bay Rhum. $40 (and that was discounted), Nice bottle - didn't last. I like this stuff just as much. $7, much bigger bottle - doesn't last. It's what I wear when I don't feel like wearing anything, or when my nose is congested and I don't want to waste my bottle of Tuscan Leather...

Fresh cloves leap out at you, this is unquestioningly a man's fragrance, strongly masculine, spicy, exotic, but without being tropical. A vintage black and white male film star would smell of this, and would be gentlemanly, kindly, and have a strong jawline you wanted to get close enough to kiss. I love it.

Great antiseptic BURN that LINGERS after your shave. There's a good bit of eugenol that hits a touch more clove than a typical Caribbean Rum frag. Bay leaf present. There's some sort of emollient in solution here as it's not nearly as drying as straight rubbing alcohol. CLASSIC

Along with the original Pinuad, I love this scent. It is also great for the price. This one also is considered a timeless classic if you are into classic scents I highly recommend . Would I buy this one again? Absolutely. The Gents score (10/10 a gentleman's classic)

The only Clubman product I like. It's a Christmas-y, cinnamon-y, gingerbread spicy scent. Nice, huge 12 oz bottle too. The only thing wrong with this one is that it doesn't last long. It's something you splash on yourself before going to bed to make the wife happy.

I love a great Bay Rum aftershave and own most of the “classics”. I find this one to be best in class within its price range. Lasts a bit longer than others. Although great any time of year, a bit more suited for fall/winter.

I can't say that I'm a connoisseur in the bay rum department, but I do indeed love this. It does "burns like the dickens" and is not for the squeamish. Lasts long enough, I can wake up the next day and still smell it...

Used to love this although I've not seen it in some time (I went through a traditional shaving phase during which I was obsessed with barber shop scents) a refreshing aftershave that hits well above its price point.

Great scent. Not sure how many are saying it doesn't last long. Stays on my skin for hours. Skin chemistry maybe. I get wiffs of it throughout the day after splashing on my neck. Great value too. Highly recommend.

I love this scent. Its like a Caribbean pirate scent, very manly. I think it would be a bit much for office wear but for the evening or a day off its wonderful. Its a great aftershave, or after haircut scent.

love this one so much, this aftershave made me want and need a vintage scent on me full time lol. sad about the longevity of its scent, but its an aftershave so xD

When I first started exploring Bay Rums back in 2008 VIBR was one of the first I tried along with Suavecito, and Layrite No.9, which is still good to this day by the way. Shortly after I moved on to better options like Ogallala and Stiring Soap Company, my personal favorites. I recently picked up a brand new bottle of VIBR because why not it's cheap and easy to come by. Not sure if they watered the new ones down or changed the formula but this bottle is nothing like the older stuff. Where the bottle from years ago was heavily spicy with clove and cinnamon that lasted hours, this new one is incredibly weak and lasts maybe 20 minutes. The spices are muted and barely exist as it's mostly a light artificial sweet smelling bay note. I've moved it to a glass bottle in hopes it will open up and become more like the old stuff was otherwise VIBR will remain in the past for me as there are far better options available today.

It's Christmas holiday, and I'm visiting my Dad, age 80, up in Cape Cod. After a shower, I notice he has a bottle of Pinaud Clubman VIRGIN ISLAND BAY RUM in the medicine cabinet. I fully expected it to smell perfectly awful: cheap and old-fashioned in the worst possible way. But no! It smells not only good, but absolutely gorgeous. Fresh, boozy lemon giving way to a delicately spicy allspice/bayleaf quality, leavened with an authentic aromatic camphor. (I confess, I love the medicinal-style aromatic notes: camphor, menthol, eucalyptus, etc.) It's really nice.... much nicer, more subtle and distinguished, I'd say, than traditional OLD SPICE. And I'm guessing this bottle cost, what, around $16 US ? Goes to show that we Perfumisti must be careful not to be perfume snobs.

You can't go wrong with a good Bay Rum, and Pinaud's is good. Not great, but definitely good. It's spicy, and a good strength, but not overdone, and the drydown lingers with notes of cinnamon leaf and musk along with spicy bay leaves. There are others I prefer (Caribbean, Royall Bay Rhum, Dominica), but there's nothing wrong with Pinaud's, and it's quite inexpensive. Hint: I decanted mine into a glass bottle instead of leaving it in the original plastic, and after several days noticed an improvement in the fragrance --- I suspect there are compounds in the plastic that interact with the alcohol.

I've been wanting to buy some Bay Rum for a long time and after reading the reviews decided to go with this one. Came in the mail today and it smells absolutely delicious! Cinnamon candy, Red Hots, right out of the bottle.. mellows nicely. Btw, I took the advice previously mentioned to decant this to a glass bottle - I found a perfect vintage painted glass rum bottle complete with pirates, parrots, and treasure chests, and a cork stopper!

"Smells like christmas!!!" was a comment I received about this. It's a nice, pleasant, spicy bay rum that for next to nothing will last you forever!! The bottle I got was huge!! It is mostly cinnamon and clove with only a hint of warm rum. Bay leaf is very faint in the background. It's a good casual aftershave that I wear in fall and winter especially around the holiday season. To me, it's like the burberry london of aftershaves!!

This is a nice one.... It is a liquified Christmas cookie in a bottle. Pinauds interpretation of a bay rum aftershave doesn't contain any bay leave oil but nevertheless it is a nice aftershave with a bay rum character. It does smell like a spicy island breeze. Like all Pinaud products you can make the scent last longer by applying a good splash to your hair massaging it in.

I bought this not because of its scent, but because it's an excellent aftershave--burns like the dickens, and leaves my skin feeling quite warm. Lots of cinnamon, lots of clove. It doesn't linger past ten minutes, which is a good thing, because it's a bit...alcoholic.

Smells exactly like cloves with some boozy rum. Very christmas like scent, although I think the plastic bottle doesn't do it justice. It has a very boozy drunken sailor scent once you open it but just after 15 seconds of air time it becomes very pleasing.

A close cousin to Florida Water, minus the citrus. Just as short-lived. Comes a bit close to medicinal "cinnamon mouthwash" territory but never enough to make it unpleasant. Recommended, especially in cooler weather.

Classic bay rum smell, and that's really it. Nice, warm, and very heavy on the clove smell. It's not offensive at all, and is not as strong as what it smells straight from the bottle.

it's pretty good. it's similar to Lustray's blue spice, but darker and less sweet

Aftershave that burrrrrrns. Feels refreshing and great scent. nice and cheap

I got Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum to be a spash aftershave. Sadly, this was at a time I started growing a beard even if I shaped it. Apprently Virgin Island Bay Rum is kind of like Florida Water, where it is a splash but can be used for either aftershave or cologne. That said, I find it doesn't last too long. I find it lasts about two hours. Now mind you, I do like the smell of spice, rum and bay leaf. I just think it does not last long enough. The only splash I ever had that worked was Stetson. If you want a spray cologne that last a bit longer, checkout Target. I found Goodfellow & Co (a kinda sorta Target own brand) 07 Spiced Ginger and Rum to be fairly similar to this bay rum. Nice performance on that one too.

What in God's name has this become? A debacle to say the least! I remember when Clubman Bay Rum (actually ALL Clubman products) was actually the front runner in men's grooming products. Bay Rum by Clubman was the gold standard by which all others were measured. No more. It's been reduced to pure garbage with none to very little resemblance to an actual Bay Rum. If you think and concentrate very hard, you might be able to conjure up thoughts of Bay Rum after using this mess...Currently using this as a morning splash...more of an astringent...in the morning. If you want a real Bay Rum, consider St Johns...the grandaddy of Bay Rums. Clubman has gone the way of barbershops...no longer in existence. Quel dommage....

I bought a bottle about 12 years ago and when I cracked it open, my nose was immediately assaulted with deep dark clove and cinnamon. And burned like the fires of hell. Unfortunately my wife at the time hated it so I passed it along to another wet shaver that wanted to give it a try. So this past November I see it on clearance at my local drug store chain and decided why not grab it again. It’s in the same ballpark as the old stuff but it has very little burn, very little clove. It’s basically a muted somewhat spicy bay rum. Yes it’s a 12 oz bottle so I splash with reckless abandon, but I have to wonder what happened to that other version that could singe nose hairs with a single sniff?

I have the aftershave version on my skin and to my nose: Cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves+cloves... another hour of the mentioned. oh by the way did I say there is Cloves in this one? 1-2 hours top but I'm thankful, good aftershave I'm lucky I don't dislike cloves, but Rum and bay leaf are not what I get from this aftershave, only cloves. 6/10.

I recently bought this off amazon. I thought it would be a bit more heavy on fragrance but it has a mild soothing effect as an aftershave. The spiciness of the smell is limited to bay leaf only. It lingers when smelled from close. Not present after a couple of hours. But nonetheless a decent aftershave.

I was most curious to sample a traditional 'bay rum' splash after-shave, as it is an oft-referenced scent profile that predates much of modern perfumery and thereby partly underlies a variety of more recent spicy, boozy, and 'barbershop-style' colognes. Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum seems likely to be as traditional as it comes, at least among products still in production. Splashing it on my arm, I immediately (and unsurprisingly) picked up a strong sensation of spice-laden rum. I seriously want to compare this to Captain Morgan's spiced rum, If memory serves, there is a similarity. The soft spice blend does seem to include bay leaf, but also some clove, cinnamon, and allspice. (N.B. The 'bay' of bay-rum is the clove-like Pimenta racemosa, not the classical Laurus nobilis) Allspice is a particularly logical fit considering this scent's Caribbean theme. Allspice (Pimenta dioica) being native to parts of Central America and the Antilles. There is also a soft floral backdrop which unites this bay rum with other 'old-fashioned' barbershop scents such as Old Spice, Pour Monsieur, Brut, etc. Indeed some of the clove note may actually be incorporated within a soft carnation accord. I'm enjoying this scent quite a bit. What might be 'dated' to some, plays for me more like a dreamy, transportive experience. Any scent that carries a suggestion of time-travel among its notes should be treasured. Also, the three main components of spices, rum, and florality balance each other nicely. Nobody is likely to mistake this fragrance as either a gingerbread cookie or spilled cocktail.

This is a eugenol bomb, basically a ton of clove overlaid with a ton of cinnamon, and not a whole lot else. Sounds bad perhaps, but actually for a dirt-cheap bay rum, it smells OK. If the "bay" part of the equation is important to you, look elsewhere, because there's almost none to be found here, just a slightly camphorous edge to the spice, mostly on top. Good for after a shave on a Saturday when your plans for the afternoon don't involve anything more than padding around in blue jeans like George C. Scott in The Changeling. Random, I know, but your day really does have to be as boring and individualistic as that film is if you want this scent to work. In other words, use it functionally, but don't wear it in public. Update 9/23/18: Although I maintain that this has scads of clove and cinnamon, I just want to reiterate that this is a bay rum, and the "bay" and "rum" components are very good for the price. This is representative of the genre, and what I would consider a "reference bay rum" for anyone unfamiliar with the term. It doesn't have the most natural bay note, but it's decent at $1 an ounce. For a more fleshed out bay rum, consider St Johns and Royall Lyme of Bermuda.

I use this aftershave & Clubman, even when I dont shave. After a quick wash, or even a quick run with the trimmer, I use this and the alcohol in it will kill any bacteria that lingers on your face and facial hair, which is the source of any unpleasant odor. I usually keep my facial hair at around #4-5 with a trimmer. As I stated in the Clubman review, you can use this or any alcohol-based aftershave as a deodorant, bc again, it kills the bacteria that is the source of the odor, rather than just covereing it with some deodorant waxy chemical. Try it for yourself and notice how long you go before you feel the need to shower or wear deodorant. Aftershave is the secret weapon to my grooming regimen.

Karlovonamesti said it all - an eugenol and cinnamon bomb. As to its functional use, it does not last more than it should, after all it is an after shave. If you want to use it as an EdT, apply liberally; just make sure you don't mind the composition - you risk becoming a walking christmas cookie. Since it is so cheap I tweaked it with the idea in mind to improve it. Tobacco and oak moss worked, however, the blend ended much along the line of scents for men dating from the 1970s. I improved the after shave adding some tobacco and glicerine. It draws compliments from my Wife as long as it lasts, no more than 15 minutes. So far, so good for curiosity's sake.

Bought this for my Fathers day present,I read it was heavy on clove and light on bay,but its a perfect combination,like it opens up with Bay,then the Cinnamon and Cloves,It last about a couple of hours,it lingers I'm aware of pinnaud's use of rubbing alcohol but this 1 smelled just like another Bayrum I purchased called Hold fast it didnt use cloves but I really believe Clubman Mastered Bay rum,I suggest buying a body mist sprayer and using it as a spray cologne.Anyway 5 Stars

This is my favorite bay rum because it's so well balanced. The clove note is strong but it doesn't overpower the rum and bay leaf. This is a warm and smooth bay rum, rather than a harsh or stark one. Burns like hell when you slap it on after a shave, but that's okay with me. Because it's so cheap for a huge bottle, I use it as a splash on cologne before going to bed. You can wear it as a cologne during the day, splashing it all over every few hours.

It's mainly cinnamon and bay, which gives an unmistakable masculine vibe. I do enjoy the smell. It just disqualifies with the burn - which it is not the pleasant, refreshing alcohol sting hat I love - but this is a chemical burn, setting in with time fuse, caused by the cinnamon compounds. I just don't think this can possibly do anything (good) for my skin.

I love this Bay Rum, it has great staying power and projection. The only down side to it is the fact that it comes in a plastic bottle with a softish plastic cap. I disagree with the post below, I think it's a fine winter night time fragrance, I have had many positive comments while wearing this on a night out on the 'tiles'.

The barber used this on me earlier today. I kept forgetting about it then getting pleasant whiffs of it all day and remembering it was me. Smells higher quality than the price would have you think and last longer than many EDTs. I'm in bed now and in this position I can still smell it coming up from the back of my neck.

At first, I didn't like this one at all, the synthetic rum smelled like cough medicine to me. After trying it some more, it kinda grew on me. When it dries down, it gives a rather pleasant warm scent. The entire smell fades away pretty quick and I don't think I would use this ever again regardless

So good it wont last. Use a mask buy it in a store maybe if we all wish on the uses of this charismatic first job celebration kind of smell.

Easy to wear stuff, an absolute bargain, not as harsh as Royall Bay Rum, doesnt burn like that one!! Lots of clove.

Someone can suggest some Perfume similar to this gem?