One of my all time favorite holiday events is the time for making aromatic and herbal gifts for family and friends. We begin our adventure with all the supplies we have on hand or can easily get (because typically we wait until the last minutes). The first step was to sterilize all my jars I was planning on using for various projects. With that done, we began our Aromatic and Herbal Gift Making.
First up: My fathers’ gift of Bay Rum Aftershave which I have been making for years now. He loves it!
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups Rum (375 ml)
- 2-3 tsp. Allspice fruits
- 3 tsp. Cloves
- 6-7 bay leaves (crushed slightly)
- 1 small Cinnamon stick
- 20 drops Bay Laurel essential oil (Laurus nobilis)
Place allspice, cloves and cinnamon stick in canning jar then cover with rum. Put the top on and shake a bit. Label the jar with “Bay Rum Aftershave”, date mixed and date to decant in about two weeks.
After two weeks, decant by straining through a strainer. Then add 15 drops of Bay Laurel essential oil, Label, and store in a beautiful bottle. You can also add 1-2tsp. of aloe vera gel and 1-2tsps of glycerin for those with dry skin.
