Duke Cannon Supply Co. – Bay Rum

“Blackbeard”

The appeal of the “Big Ass Brick” of Duke Cannon soap may be pure “Beavis & Butt Head,” but it’s an appeal, nonetheless, as long as you’re able to remember what it felt like being ten years old. The idea is that women are not amused—and also, as a generalization, women are more sensitive to fragrance—and would find this soap overpowering, even migraine inducing. I am a fan of excess, sometimes, so I appreciate its boldness. Besides the Bay Rum, their scent is also channeling “Citrus Musk,” “Cedarwood,” and “Island Spice”—and it conjures a noseful that can best be described as: dude. Anyway, it brings to mind my favorite aftershave, Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum—which oddly enough you can find in Ohio, but not Milwaukee. In a pinch, I’ll still use Aqua Velva (sad that it no longer comes in the bumpy glass bottle). Though… I am no longer able to tolerate the Old Spice. The Clubman Bay Rum comes from the same company, Pinaud, as my 2nd favorite, Lilac Vegetal—amazing that we can still find that one at all—and an even odder variety, Pinaud Clubman. There could be no more than a handful of us Clubman users left in the U.S. (I don’t want to speak for Globally)—we could probably all get together for an annual meeting at the Armada Room, in a Holiday Inn on the outer belt just outside of Indianapolis—and I’d bet there’d be few pipe smokers and maybe even someone with a monocle. In no more than a few years, I’m afraid I won’t be able to find any of these anymore, except on pricey eBay auctions. But then, by that time, I might also not be able to find socks that go up past your ankles.

Soap Review No. 163