The provenance of Bois d’Inde

Why Bois d’Inde Exists

Bay rum has been made in the West Indies since the 1830s. For much of the twentieth century, Dominica supplied most of the world’s bay oil. The island’s volcanic southeast produced an oil defined by its soil, altitude, rainfall, and a distillation tradition carried across generations.

A.C. Shillingford began distilling in 1907. For nearly a century, Dominica Bay Rum became the standard: dry, bracing, and made without an elaborate fragrance formula. Tropical Storm Erika destroyed the Petite Savanne production facility in 2015. Hurricane Maria devastated more of the island’s remaining small distilleries two years later.

Bois d’Inde exists because that product should not have died.

The Name

Bois d’Inde is the French Creole name used in Dominica for Pimenta racemosa, the West Indian Bay Tree. Its leaves yield the oil at the center of true bay rum.

The Formula

Bay oil and alcohol. Approximately 55% ABV. The scent is dry, clean, spiced, and warm, with clove and allspice notes, a faint smokiness, and no sweetness.

This is not a revision made for modern fashion. It is a restoration of something that was correct the first time.