The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bay rum \Bay" rum"\ A fragrant liquid, used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.
Note: The original bay rum, from the West Indies, is prepared, it is believed, by distillation from the leaves of the bayberry ( Myrcia acris). The bay rum of the Pharmacop[oe]ia (spirit of myrcia) is prepared from oil of myrcia (bayberry), oil of orange peel, oil of pimento, alcohol, and water.
Wiktionary
n. A fragrant liquid used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.
WordNet
n. an aromatic liquid originally obtained by distilling the leaves of the bayberry tree with rum
Wikipedia
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 It is a distillate that was originally made in Saint Thomas "and probably other West Indian islands" from rum and the leaves and/or berries of the West Indian bay tree, Pimenta racemosa.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 original bay rum from St. Thomas by A.H. Riise continues to be produced locally in the US Virgin Islands by the West Indies Bay Company.
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.
Usage examples of "bay rum".
He took a bath at the hostel while he was at it, and showed UP at the Howard house before sundown, as he'd been invited, with a clean shirt and shoestring tie, his rumpled tobacco brown tweed suit, and a good splashing of bay rum.
He arrived in town trailing rumors behind him like the stench of his potent bay rum.
With a wicked grin Elfred lightly slapped Gabe on the jaw, as if patting bay rum there.
The air in the small room, low-ceilinged and set three steps below street level, was warm and sleepy with the scent of bay rum.
As she is giving her hair a final brush -- a hundred strokes each night, to brush in the bay rum she uses as hair-dressing -- he approaches her, his arms reaching out to enfold her.
The scent of bay rum and woodsy herbs, coupled with an unmistakable undertone of Alex himself, filled her lungs.
Smelling of bay rum, his overnight stubble removed and his brown mustache now combed to the angle and spread of the horns on a Texas steer, Longarm walked into Marshal Billy Vail's office before eight o'clock.