Learn · Product
King of Bourbon
King of Bourbon shaving soap on WhollyKaw's Siero, Bufala, and Vegan builds. Tobacco-vanilla fragrance — gingery vanilla, tobacco heart, woody-earthy dry-down. Made in small batches in our New Jersey workshop.
Tobacco · Ginger · Vetiver · Cypriol
King of Bourbon is a tobacco-vanilla shaving soap on the Siero base, made in small batches in our New Jersey workshop.
Quick facts
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scent family | Tobacco-vanilla |
| Base | Siero — see base section below for the full composition. |
| Weight | 4 oz / 114 g |
| Lather | Dense, slick, builds in 30–45 seconds with a wet brush in cool water. |
| Where it’s made | Our New Jersey workshop. Small batches, single-vessel saponification. |
| Builds | Tallow Siero ($29.99) · Tallow Bufala ($26.99) · Vegan ($22.99) — same fragrance compound, three different fat structures. |
What King of Bourbon smells like
King of Bourbon is built around the warm-spirit character of bourbon — gingery vanilla on top, tobacco at the heart, woody-earthy at the base. The composition reads boozy without ever crossing into sweet. Best in fall and winter, when the heavier register lands as warmth rather than weight.
Top notes — Madagascar bourbon vanilla and ginger lead the opening — sweet, but with the ginger’s bite cutting any candy edge. The first 15 minutes on the lather and on the skin read warm and slightly boozy. Cassia absolute (a relative of cinnamon) threads through, adding a dry, slightly aromatic spice.
Heart notes — tobacco settles in around the twenty-minute mark, becoming the dominant note. Pipe-tobacco-forward rather than cigar smoke; dry, leafy, slightly sweet. Ylang-ylang runs through with a soft floral warmth that keeps the heart from going austere — an unusual move in a tobacco soap, and the detail that distinguishes King of Bourbon from a strict tobacco-vanilla composition.
Base notes — the dry-down is cypriol (an Indian sedge with a deep woody-incense character) and vetiver (smoky, earthy, faintly damp). Together they tone down the sweetness from the vanilla and keep the woody notes grounded. The full arc takes about 3 to 4 hours, finishing dry and woody-warm.
If you’ve worn Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille or By Kilian Back to Black, the structure will be familiar. King of Bourbon is the soap-form interpretation of that register on our Siero base, where the dairy stack lets the woody base notes ride longer on the skin.
The Siero base — why it conditions like cream
Siero is Italian for “whey,” and that’s the technical detail that defines this base. Most artisan tallow shaving soaps use tallow plus added oils (kokum, shea, cocoa) for hydration. Siero adds whole donkey milk, whole water buffalo milk, and water buffalo milk whey — meaning real dairy proteins, fats, and lactose are saponified into the soap matrix.
What this changes in practice:
- Slickness. Whey proteins create a glide layer between razor and skin that you can feel on the second pass — the razor moves more like it’s running over silk than over foam.
- Post-shave skin feel. Whole milk fats and lactose draw water into the stratum corneum during the shave. Skin feels conditioned for 30–60 minutes after rinsing — before any balm or splash is applied.
- Lather density. The protein content stiffens the lather without making it dry. You can build a meringue-like consistency in cool water without overloading on soap.
Siero costs more to produce than a standard tallow base — domestic dairy isn’t cheap, and small-dairy donkey and buffalo milk especially aren’t. The price reflects that. If you’ve shaved with a coconut-and-lye soap and wondered why an artisan tallow puck costs four times as much, the answer is mostly here, in the base.
Three builds — which to pick
King of Bourbon is one of the few WhollyKaw shaving soaps offered in three builds — Tallow on the Siero base, Tallow on the Bufala base, and Vegan. All three share the exact same fragrance compound, so the scent journey is identical. The differences live in the fat structure and the lather mechanics.
Tallow Siero ($29.99) is the most-conditioning expression. Beef tallow plus whole donkey milk, plus whole water buffalo milk, plus water buffalo milk whey. Whey proteins build a slick glide layer between razor and skin and give the lather a meringue-like density. If you want the maximum post-shave skin conditioning King of Bourbon can deliver, this is the build. Pairs especially well with the warm-spirit fragrance — the Siero base lets the woody-tobacco dry-down ride longer on the skin.
Tallow Bufala ($26.99) is the creamier, plusher build. Beef tallow plus whole donkey milk plus whole water buffalo milk — no whey. The buffalo-milk casein gives the lather more body without the satin-fineness of Siero. Lather feels denser, slightly more old-school. This is the build for the shaver who wants luxury feel under the razor without committing to the full Siero whey complexity.
Vegan ($22.99) swaps tallow for plant-derived fats (kokum, shea, cocoa, mango). Hyaluronic acid plus polyquaternium-10 carry the post-shave hydration in place of the dairy proteins. Same fragrance compound, lighter lather body, brighter and cleaner under the razor. The build for shavers who avoid animal products on principle.
If you’re unsure: Tallow Siero is the canonical recommendation if you want the deepest expression of the soap. Tallow Bufala is the value pick at $3 less for a comparable old-school feel. Vegan is the right answer if dairy-free is non-negotiable.
Layer the full King of Bourbon line
King of Bourbon is built to layer. The lather you build with this soap is the start; the post-shave products carry the same fragrance through the rest of the routine so the scent doesn’t end at the rinse:
- King of Bourbon splash — alcohol-based, bracing, antiseptic. Use directly after rinsing.
- King of Bourbon toner — alcohol-free, witch hazel and aloe. Use if your skin doesn’t tolerate the splash.
- King of Bourbon balm — final conditioning step. Carries the dry-down notes for hours.
For all-day skin support without competing scents, our grass-fed tallow zinc oxide cream is unscented — a daily moisturizer that won’t fight the King of Bourbon throughline.
Who King of Bourbon is not for
Honest limitations:
- Fragrance-sensitive skin. King of Bourbon has a real fragrance load. If our unscented Bare Naked Shaving Soap (Tallow build) or Sans Parfum Vegan Shaving Soap (Vegan build) is what your skin tolerates, this isn’t the soap to switch to — our unscented line is fragrance-free across both Tallow and Vegan, so you don’t have to choose between sensitivity and ethics.
- Strict dairy allergies. The Tallow build contains saponified dairy proteins. Most contact-dermatitis reactions to dairy are with raw milk, not saponified milk soap, but if you have severe sensitivities, test a sample before committing to a puck.
- Looking for a designer-fragrance clone. King of Bourbon is its own composition, not an interpretation of a popular fragrance. If you want a Tom Ford or Creed dupe in soap form, this won’t satisfy.
- Pucks-as-decor shavers. The puck is meant to be used. The fragrance is most expressive in the lather; sniffing the puck doesn’t do it justice.
Cost per shave
A 4-oz puck of WhollyKaw soap lasts most shavers 5–6 months with daily shaves. The math:
- Tallow Siero ($29.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.20 per shave
- Tallow Bufala ($26.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.18 per shave
- Vegan ($22.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.15 per shave
For comparison, a single-use disposable cartridge plus a foam can typically runs $0.40–$0.60 per shave with worse skin feel. Artisan tallow soap is more conditioning, lasts months per puck, and works out cheaper than the drugstore aisle.
What’s in the soap
Tallow Siero build:
Aqua (Water), Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, (Vegetable) Glycerin, Lac Asinae (Donkey Milk), Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica Seed (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao Seed (Cocoa) Butter, Milk Protein, Whey Proteins, Linoleic Acid, Lac (Milk), Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Linum Usitatissimum (Hydrolyzed Linseed) Seed Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Linolenic Acid, Lanolin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Farnesol.
Tallow Bufala build:
Aqua (Water), Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, (Vegetable) Glycerin, Lac Asinae (Donkey Milk), Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica Seed (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao Seed (Cocoa) Butter, Milk Protein, Linoleic Acid, Lac (Milk), Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Linolenic Acid, Lanolin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Farnesol.
Vegan build:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Soybean Glycerides, Shea Butter Unsaponifiables, Parfum (Fragrance), Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Farnesol.
Contains no parabens, no chemical sulfates, and no synthetic dyes. Fragrance is a custom compound mixed by an American perfumer to our spec.
What customers say
★★★★★
Amazing soap, have it….
The scent of the soap is really fantastic, It lathers pretty much quickly, amazing slickness, overall it’s a great soap to have in my collection. Look forward to have more soaps of wholly kaw in my collection….
★★★★★
Wish that it came as
Wish that it came as a cake so that it could be used in shaving mug, but other than that minor quibble, the soap’s quality is excellent and fragrance very pleasant.
★★★★★
Must have
i got this one as a sample in my last order, definitely a must have! another home run in all aspects! the scent is sweet, doesn't really seem boozy to me, i definitely pick up on the vanilla but its so complex i dont know how to describe it, really hit on my old factory senses. is masculine but not like a spice, i think it reminds me of Obsession?? definitely another winner and a must have!
★★★★★
These soaps components are really well mixed. I can't really distinguish a particular scent, but it as a whole it smells amazing.
★★★★★
Another awesome soap from Wholly Kaw. Super slick, great fragrance, and wonderful post shave feel. First King of Oud and now this. Really impressed.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a puck of King of Bourbon last?
Most shavers get 5 to 6 months out of a 4-ounce puck with daily shaving. The Siero base lathers efficiently — you don't need to load heavily — so a puck stretches further than a typical mass-market soap. Heavy loaders or face-and-head shavers may see 3 to 4 months.
What does King of Bourbon smell like — fresh or warm?
Warm and spirit-led. Opens with ginger and Madagascar bourbon vanilla — sweet but balanced by the early presence of tobacco. The heart turns smokier as tobacco settles in alongside cassia absolute and ylang-ylang. The dry-down is cypriol and vetiver — woody, earthy, slightly damp — with the vanilla and tobacco continuing as a throughline. Best in fall and winter, when the heavier composition reads as warmth rather than weight.
Why is it called King of Bourbon?
King of Bourbon is built around the warm-spirit character of bourbon — gingery vanilla, tobacco, ylang-ylang, and ginger over a woody-earthy base. The scent reads boozy without being sweet; tobacco and the woody notes (cypriol, vetiver) keep the vanilla grounded.
Do I need a brush for King of Bourbon, or can I lather with my hands?
King of Bourbon is a hard puck designed for brush use. A synthetic or boar brush builds the best lather and gives you the slickness benefits of the Siero base. Hand-lathering works in a pinch but won't get the dense, conditioning lather the soap is designed for.
Siero, Bufala, or Vegan — which to pick?
King of Bourbon is offered in three builds with the same fragrance: Tallow Siero ($29.99) is the densest, most-conditioning expression with whey proteins. Tallow Bufala ($26.99) is creamier and plusher, dropping the whey but keeping both whole milks. Vegan ($22.99) trades tallow for plant-derived fats and uses hyaluronic acid for hydration. Tallow Siero is canonical; Tallow Bufala is the value pick; Vegan is the dairy-free choice.
Is King of Bourbon on the same base as 1776?
Yes — both King of Bourbon and 1776 sit on the Siero base. Same dairy stack, same lather mechanics, same post-shave skin feel. The difference between them is entirely the fragrance: King of Bourbon is a tobacco-vanilla; 1776 is a green fougère with a grapefruit-tarragon opening.
Can I use King of Bourbon in cold water?
Yes — Siero soaps lather well in cold water, which is why we built the base the way we did. A 30 to 45 second build with a wet brush gets you to a usable lather. Hot water gives a slightly faster build but isn't necessary.
Where is King of Bourbon made?
In our New Jersey workshop. Saponification, scenting, pressing, and packaging all happen in house. The fragrance compound is mixed by an American perfumer.
Anything to know before I use it?
This soap can discolor natural-bristle brushes after a few uses. A synthetic-fiber brush or a dedicated brush is recommended.
Is King of Bourbon a moisturizing shaving soap?
In the way most shavers use the word — yes. People often search for "moisturizing shaving soap" or "moisturizing shave soap" looking for a soap that leaves skin feeling conditioned, hydrated, and protected through the shave and after. The technical term we use is "conditioning" because the soap is rinsed off (it doesn't moisturize the way a leave-on cream does), but the experience matches what people mean when they search for moisturizing soaps. King of Bourbon sits on our Siero base — tallow plus whole donkey milk, whole water buffalo milk, and water buffalo milk whey — built for exactly that deeply conditioned skin feel. For an actual leave-on moisturizer to layer over the shave, pair with our grass-fed tallow zinc oxide cream.