American Vintage Soap Co. Citadel: My Take on a Bay Rum Done Different

Hello, my friends. Welcome back. I’m John Bonham, Cape Cod Wet Shaving. Got a good shave for you today. Monday Monologue, which I haven’t done in a while. The videos I’ve been making have been running long, I’ve been cramming random stuff into the history shaves, and it was overdue to just sit down and talk while I shave. Coffee of the day is Sterling Colombia, which I left downstairs, so you’ll have to take my word on it. Excellent roast.

The artisan I’m covering today is someone I’ve been wanting to do a proper video on for a while. I’ve mentioned him, I’ve used his stuff, but he deserves a real spotlight. I’m talking about American Vintage Soap Co.

American Vintage Soap Co.

This is Robert’s operation. Just starting out, and in my opinion genuinely underrated. I don’t mean that as an insult, Robert. I just don’t think he’s really picked up the traction he deserves yet. You know how Dave over at Soap Palooza was making soap for two years before he finally broke through? Same kind of thing. The talent’s there. I want people to see it.

One thing Robert does that I think is interesting: he does not list scent notes. A lot of people have strong feelings about that. I personally respect it. His reasoning is that a note listed on a label doesn’t mean the soap is going to smell the way you expect it to. And he’s right. When I got Sir Henry Sandalwood, Andy at the wet shaving store messaged me and asked what I thought. I told him it smelled like brisk iced tea. That’s the best I could do. It’s a sandalwood. I stand by the iced tea description to this day. So listed notes and what your nose actually picks up are two different things. Robert wants you to sniff it cold and just go, “I love this.” Then you find out the notes after the fact if you ask him. It’s an interesting approach. Not for everyone. I get it and I respect it.

The Citadel Set

This one is called Citadel. It’s his take on a bay rum, and it’s not the typical clove-heavy version you might be picturing. His goes darker, woodier, greener. More pine, more oakmoss. I picked up three pieces: the soap at $16, the aftershave splash at $16, and an EDT. Look at the size of that bottle. The EDT was partly an affordability decision on Robert’s part, partly because he built the whole set to complement itself. Everything in this video I purchased myself. He did offer to send them. I told him no. He’s just starting out and I want to support him. I hope you do the same after watching this.

The soap switched from tins to plastic jars. It’s 4 oz. Looks like three because the jar is taller and slimmer, but trust me, it’s four. Good to know before you feel like you got shorted.

The Scent, Best I Can Tell

Since Robert doesn’t publish the notes, here’s my best guess at what I’m picking up. I know I didn’t catch all of them. Take this as one guy’s nose, not a fact sheet.

I’m getting rum, and it reads on the darker side. Molasses underneath, or something close, maybe toasted maple. Cinnamon, ginger, oakmoss, vanilla, cedarwood, sandalwood, patchouli. Once I got the lather worked up, I became pretty certain there’s cardamom in there too. Something about the warmth of it once it’s on the face.

What this is not: a gourmand. Don’t go in expecting something sweet-heavy. It’s his take on bay rum without leaning hard on the clove. Darker, more complex, the pine pushing through.

Working Up the Lather

I’m loading with a brush I believe is Viking Forge. Beautiful coin medallion on the handle, it’s one of those touches that makes a brush feel like an object. Silver tip badger on the lower end of that tier. I bought a small dedicated lather bowl specifically for this setup, so we’re going all the way.

Nice, goopy, lovely lather. I thought it would thicken up on its own and I was wrong. Added a bit more soap, got it where it needed to be. Robert, you did a great job with this fragrance. Once it’s worked up, the pine comes forward and the bay fills in right behind it. Very good stuff.

He’s on a tallow base, and you can check the full ingredients over at avsoapco.com. The slickness is exactly where it should be. Top notch.

The Razor: PAA DOC Double Open Comb

First time using this one. I bought it a while back and hadn’t gotten around to it. I have a Permasharp in there at fourth use, a bit duller, because open combs aren’t something I reach for unless I have real growth going, and I wanted to be on the safe side.

This one is surprisingly smooth. It’s adjustable in the sense that you don’t tighten the cap all the way and you get more blade exposure. Mine’s tightened all the way to start. I could probably loosen it half a turn and pick up a little more blade feel if I wanted it. There is some blade chatter in there. Just enough to know the blade’s working. Not so much that I’m thinking about it on every stroke.

First pass, no complaints. This razor might end up in my regular rotation.

On the subject of PAA: I took years to pull the trigger on their razors. I kept looking, kept moving on. I finally saw the Quantum and liked the way it looked, picked one up, and it’s now one of my favorite razors I own. The knurling is excellent and it’s one of the smoothest shavers I’ve used. I kick myself for waiting that long. The Quantum and this DOC are very different shavers, but neither one has let me down.

Out by the Pond

One more thing worth mentioning while I’m finishing up passes. We’re fortunate where we live. We have a pond called John’s Pond near the house (go figure), and every Fourth of July, all the houses on a whole cove of that pond shoot off fireworks together. We walk four blocks and get the whole show. Before that, there’s a festival at my kids’ high school, football field, ice cream, funnel cake, trinkets, glow sticks. We walk there too because I don’t like driving on those holidays.

My oldest took time off work to come with the whole family this year. He’s busy now, working, working on his associate’s degree in computer drafting, probably heading toward his master’s from there. The daily walks we used to take when he was in school, those don’t happen the same way anymore. But he made time. That kind of thing stays with you. I’m not ready for all of them to grow up and get busy, but you can’t hold that back. You just appreciate it when they show up.

He’s a good kid. Very proud of him.

Thanks for hanging out today. Go take a look at American Vintage Soap Co. over at avsoapco.com and see if anything jumps out at you. Robert’s doing real work over there and he deserves your eyes on it. I’ll see you next time.