Portland General Store - Whiskey After-Shave Splash

While searching for new quality men's care products online, I started to notice how infiltrated the market had become with small business products. It wasn't just the usual brands that you see at Target, or Walmart, but also brands that boast which state they're made in as a testament to their overall quality. It was kind of like going into a beer store, and seeing microbrews next to 30 racks of Bud Light. You know the microbrews are of better quality than the Bud Light (tipped off by the difference in price.), so I figured the same might stand true to "Micro-men's care products." 

I decided since I was running low, I'd get some aftershave. The great thing about these smaller brand products, is that they come in scents that you just don't come across in stores. While I'm sure Gillette, and Brut have conducted considerable amounts of market research to concoct scents that are appealing to the masses, I wanted a quality product that wouldn't make me smell like every other guy in the office. Certain scents can conjure up memories for people, and the last thing I want to do is remind the girl of her ex. There's a saying that women are attracted to men who remind them of their fathers. I kept this in mind when I ordered Whiskey scented aftershave from the Portland General Store. I wanted a scent so manly that it conjured up images of bacon sizzling in a lumberjack's cabin in Vermont during peak foliage season. A scent so manly that it was sure to remind every fortunate woman who I passed by of her father, or at least make her question the manliness of her old man. PGS's Whiskey Aftershave seemed like the best product on the market that would make my fantasy a reality. I ordered it without hesitation.

It took a little longer than I would have liked for it to arrive in the mail, but I found the reason for the delay to be that they had to make more batches, which made me all the more excited knowing I was getting something that required time and effort to make. When it came, I admired the bottle in which it came for longer than I had admired any other bottle before. Brown glass, with an aged looking label which specified the formula number (2), and the volume (120ml) of my particular aftershave. It seriously looks like some sort of "cure all" remedy that a traveling doctor in the old west would sell in each town he came to.

Onto the smell. No it doesn't smell like Jim, or Jack, and I know at first that may sound disappointing, but think about it. Do you really wanna reek of alcohol at work, or at that parent-teacher meeting your wife's making you go to? Chances are you don't, but if you do, you might as well just rub some bourbon on your face after your shave. It'll kill the germs. The scent of this aftershave is fairly subtle. It has a very natural smell to it that is vaguely reminiscent to whiskey. In fact, it's made only from natural ingredients, which was a huge plus for me. I got a lot of compliments for the way I smelled. Someone out of the blue actually told me that I smelled like Vermont, which was probably one of the best compliments I had ever received.

The one fault with PGS's Whiskey Aftershave is that it doesn't do that great of a job in preventing razor burn. I was used to aftershaves that have a burning sensation when you apply them after shaving, which I like a lot for some reason, but this aftershave doesn't. I noticed that if I didn't shower after I shaved that I would get razor burn. 

The bottom line is that although this stuff isn't the best on the market for preventing bacteria from getting into your pours, it smells great. I've actually replaced my go to colognes with this stuff, and for $18.00 you really can't beat it. I say go out and try it. Support a small business and smell like the man you wish you were.

Link:
Portland General Store


-S.D. Oscar