The Tortuga Cigars brand isn’t a household name…to me. Until a couple weeks ago I never heard of it and if it wasn’t for George Brightman of W.Curtis Draper I would’ve ignored it on the shelf of their Bethesda MD location. As typical with my generation of cigar smoker, you walk into your shop and ask “so, whats new?” Needless to say when George said “Tortuga” my facial response was “what the fuck is a Tortuga”. I had a similar response when he said its a cigar owned by Victor Vitale. Actually when I heard the name I thought it was that dude in California linked to Barry Bonds but thats Victor Conte. Weird…I know. Besides who owns the line and that the Edicion Limitada 2011 is blended by Henke Kelner, thats pretty much all I can tell you about the cigar or the Tortuga brand. I hope that will change. Needless to say, an unknown brand to me with the overly used Edicion Limitada band didn’t instill me with confidence that I was going to get my $9.20 worth.
I’ll sum up the 12 minute video above. The Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011 surprised me. I had low expectations but if there is a poster child for a cigar thats considered a diamond in the rough, the Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011 is it. A familiar Davidoff-ish musty woodsy flavor dominates the flavor spectrum. Add to that a subtle spicy component thats tempered and balanced by a subtle creaminess and you have a flavor profile that would satisfy any palate. Three words that best describe the Tortuga Edicion Limitada are smooth, balanced with a impeccable long finish. The smoke literally coats your palate with a film of flavor that hangs around long after you burn your fingers. Available in three sizes the Churchill-ish size is amazing with the Robusto not far behind. The Torpedo has a tighter draw that just doesn’t produce enough smoke to create that killer film of flavor. Perfect Medium-to-Full in strength and flavor make the smooth Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011 a must try.
I don’t know how widely available these are. The Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011 isn’t mentioned on the Tortuga Cigars website. In fact only the Bethesda location of W.Curtis Draper carries them (the downtown store doesn’t). Check your sources or the retail locator on the Tortuga website and see if you can track them down. I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you can’t find a source, you can use mine by contacting W.Curtis Draper (Bethesda) at (301) 907-7990. Tell em Jerry from Stogie Review sent you. Maybe it’ll earn me a free smoke or two and if you see this Victor…lets talk.
Production – Charlie’s audio problems seem to have made their way to me. Not sure why my sound is only in one audio channel. Weird…
Uggh, another LE cigar?! Ouch my aching checking account!!!
No iOS friendly!? 🙁
Sorry about that…forgot to add the link. Its there now or you can just click below:
http://youtu.be/8H_ggiiYj70?hd=1
Many thanks on getting that up before my Torano Vault expired!
Sounds like a nice stogie. I’ve never seen them either hopefully my B&M will pick em up!
I Google’d this cigar and found them at website that I have bought from before:
Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011
http://nhcigars.com/brands/6938
The store is NH Cigars
http://nhcigars.com
I am going to place an order right now
Ryan thanks for giving us the heads up on where to find these online.
Hey no problem! I ordered a box of the Tortuga Cigars 215 Torpedo from NHCigars.com (like I said.) My box will be arriving at my doorstep tomorrow, so I am excited. I’ll report back if I agree with the review or not, and what my thoughts were of them.
I can’t wait!
FYI – The box I am talking about is:
Tortuga 215 Toro Limited Edition Cigars
http://nhcigars.com/products/tortuga-cigars-215-toro
$82.99 (Not bad, right?.. $8.29 a stick)
This is a great cigar that I highly recommend. We were the first shop to get them and hosted the national release party. It is the fullest bodied cigar in the Tortuga line when compared to the 1948’s (CT shade) and 1950’s(maduro). The Tortuga 215 name came from the zip code where Victor Vitale is from(Philadelphia). The binder is Honduran, the filler is Dominican and the wrapper is a sun grown Nicaraguan Corojo. This line is a limited release of only 1,000 boxes(10 count) total. The three sizes made were robusto, toro and torpedo. Enjoy them while they last! I know Victor and several of the reps and the last shipment of boxes # 601-1000 are set to arrive in the country soon. When they are gone they are gone!
Tim
Tim – thanks so much for filling the holes in my review. I agree that this is a great cigar that totally took me by surprise. Thanks for taking the time to comment and again, thanks for filling in the holes.
I love this cigar!!! I have been a VSG smoker for years. I still love that cigar, but I have smoked at least ten boxes of the Tortuga 215 Toro. I agree with your review, that the Toro is the best size. The Cigar has a great balance, construction and especially taste!! My Favorite cigars are the Davidoff Millenium Toro, VSG Illusion and now the Tortuga 215 Toro. Ten boxes into it and i still love it. I just bought the last box in The store last night, and put in my order for more. I can’t get enough of this cigar.
Wow! So I got my box of the Tortuga Edicion Limitada 2011 and man was I impressed. Sorry it took me so long to comment about my box, but I’ve been busy smoking all of these cigars and burning my finger tips in the process.
So I agree with the review, this cigar is awesome!
By the way, I checked out their website, looks like they made a new page
http://www.tortugacigars.com/edicion-limitada-2011.html
Anyone else buy these yet? Any other online stores sell them, because I couldn’t find any.
Well I picked up two of these at Briar Patch here in Sacramento and its not up my flavor profile. It is like a VSG and I don’t care for those either but if you like the VSG you’ll love these.
It’s got the charry Dominican bitterness I dont particularly care for but I’m glad I gave it a chance.
Dave – WTF? I think it’s you and not the cigar. You obviously don’t have a sophisticated palate like me? LOL. You know I’m really not a big fan of the VSG either but its been awhile since I’ve smoked one and never really compared the two. Thanks for giving it a chance bro…
Dave I just saw your picture you posted of the Tortuga LE you smoked…dude you picked the wrong freaking size. Should’ve went with the robusto. LOL
Crap you know your right. I just love Toro sizes but lately Robustos seem to get the blends better. Case in point is OSA. Holy crap what a difference between the fat Toro and the Robusto. Barely similar cigars.
I’ll give the Robusto size some love and see how that fares.
One thing for sure. I’ll smoke almost anything once!
Definitely agree… Toro is the way to go.
Funny how things work – I just reordered a box online and then this post from 2 months ago gets commented on… it’s a sign of some sort I’m sure.
Hey guys, did you happen to notice the QR Code on the bottom? I’ve never seen a QR code actually on a box (I’ve seen stickers), this is pretty neat. I scanned it with my phone and it is a signup form for their email newsletter.
Anyone else see it?
These cigars are very good these are one of my new favorites, great review. I bought these cigars on-line for around $80 a box at nhcigars.com here is the link http://nhcigars.com/brands/6938