Bourbon Cowboy by The Cajun Blade: Bourbon Done Right

McKenzie River. Pacific Northwest. Monday, June 1st, 2026. I’ve got the Omega loaded, the Vintage Star ready, and a cold F Pillar from Hood River cracked open at about five o’clock. We’re doing this outside. That’s what we do around here.

I’m out here to review Bourbon Cowboy from The Cajun Blade. Full disclosure up front: everything in this video I paid for myself, except the soap and splash. Eric sent those to me for review. About ten shaves in now, all tub loading. I’ve got a feel for it.

The Setup

I’m running Eric’s Bayou Butter as a lather booster before I load the brush. It’s an unscented pre-shave, just a light application on the face to help the brush grab the soap. I’m working out of the 2 oz gentleman’s set today, which pairs a 2 oz soap with a 2 oz splash. You can also get the soap in a full 5 oz tub and the splash in a 100 ml bottle if you want the full sizes.

Brush is the Omega 11047. Mixed badger and boar, 22mm knot. Small and tough. Razor is a Vintage Star, think a 1950s Gillette Tech copy, plated in 24 karat gold. I have a few of these. This is probably my nicest one. Bzano in the cap. Haven’t had this one out on video in a while, and I forgot how much I like it.

The Soap Base - and Why I Don’t Review Its Scent

Before I get into the fragrance, let me address something about the base. Bradford 2.1. If you pick up any Cajun Blade soap, you’re going to notice a chocolatey note in the soap itself. My wife catches it. I’ve got seven or eight of Eric’s soaps now, and it’s consistent across all of them.

My theory is the African black soap, which comes from cocoa pod ash, plus the honey, the shea butter, and the coconut milk in the formula. Something in that combination produces a chocolatey character. I haven’t confirmed this with Eric directly - if you want to know exactly what he attributes it to, reach out to him. He’s responsive on Messenger. But that’s what my nose tells me.

Now, here’s my rule: I don’t review the fragrance of the soap. I’ve covered why at length in other videos and I’ll link one in the description. Short version: the splash is the fragrance vehicle. That’s what’s on your skin all day. That’s what I’m evaluating. So we’re reviewing the splash.

Bourbon Cowboy on the Skin

First application of the splash, I get rum and citrus immediately. Bourbon Cowboy is not a citrus fragrance. The citrus is a flash of brightness, light and fleeting, and when it’s there it reads rich rather than sharp. No biting lemon-zest edge. The rum comes right in and grounds it fast. Those two play off each other for maybe a minute, then the citrus is gone.

After that you’re into Kentucky bourbon and cognac. On the sales page Eric describes this as warm, rugged, masculine, says if you like bourbon and woody profiles, this is for you. That’s accurate. But what makes me actually reach for this one is wearability.

I’m picky about that. Something can smell good and I still won’t wear it. I love Buffalo Trace. You’ll find a bottle in our freezer two hundred days out of the year. But I don’t always want to smell like a distillery. A lot of bourbon fragrances go too hard on the liquor. Whiskey Wonderland from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements is a punch in the face. I love that smell. But that isn’t always the move. Bourbon Cowboy isn’t that. The bourbon is there, it’s recognizable, you know exactly what you’re dealing with. It just doesn’t overwhelm.

What softens it is the geranium and ylang ylang. Soft florals, behind the scenes. Not there to make this a floral fragrance, not even close. What those notes do is round off the edges of the liquor, smooth out the sharpness, make it wearable in more situations. It works.

The dry down is where this fragrance earns the cowboy name. You get tobacco, sandalwood, and a very clean white musk, sweetened just enough by the tonka and vanilla. And it’s a woody, creamy vanilla, not candy-sweet. It pulls the base into warm territory without going anywhere near dessert. Good finish.

The Gear

The Vintage Star ran clean today. This is a mild, tech-style razor, and I keep coming back to it. Smooth, predictable, nothing dramatic. Good choice for an outdoor shave when you’re working off a phone screen with no mirror. The Bzano blade did its job.

The Omega loaded fast from the tub. I face lathered today. I got to talking and loaded it a touch short, the lather came out a little thin on the second pass. That’s on me, not the soap.

When and Where

Gender scale: this one leans masculine. Not aggressively so. Just right of center, right of unisex. Someone could wear this regardless, but most noses are going to read it masculine.

Hot summer days, I’d skip it. Not what you want on your skin at ninety degrees. Four seasons otherwise. It shines in winter, spring, and autumn, but I’ll wear this in Oregon summers without any problem. I wore it to church two weeks ago. The liquor notes aren’t loud enough to read as anything other than a good cologne.

Longevity: I’m getting a solid four hours of good projection. After that it settles into a skin fragrance, but I can still detect it six to eight hours in on close wear. The soap itself off the tub reads around a two or three on projection. Not strong. The fragrance story in this line is the splash.

Bourbon Cowboy is available at The Cajun Blade store. Use Tobin10 at checkout for ten percent off. I’ve also got a couple announcements at the end of the video, two giveaways and something about where I’m planning to take the channel. Appreciate you watching, and good soap, Eric.