Fortitude

I wrote a little about Fortitude a while back, I found my travel spray in a box of others today and put a spray on my forearm. I figured I would jump back in and add to my thoughts below: Fortitude is a very interesting fragrance, it starts out as an almost 1:1 of Tumi Continuum, as it goes into the drydown, it develops some incredible depth with multiple levels of dry tobacco leaf supported by tonka bean, patchouli, nutmeg and sandalwood which develop into a stunning a cocoa accord. I own a bottle of Tumi Continuum, but it has always been to simple and too linear for me, Fortitude is MUCH better in my opinion and came out years before. It's blatantly obvious that Continuum was inspired by Fortitude. Performance is very good with 8+ hours on skin, days on clothing. Projection is great in the first 2 hours. This is a fragrance best suited to Fall and Winter although it would wear nicely on cool rainy spring days and cooler nights in the early Spring and late Summer. This is a fragrance that I would classify as masculine in terms of traditional fragrance gender conventions, but there's no reason a woman couldn't wear it. It's like a more mature gourmand fragrance. Although the notes and scent profile are different, I would say vibe wise this would make a good alternative to the legendary Dior Homme Parfum 2014. It could also be viewed as more grown up (and higher quality) version of something like Luna Rossa Black. Fortitude has to be one of the most wonderful cold weather fragrances I have had the pleasure of smelling, especially when I think of gourmands. Yes this a a tobacco fragrance but it smells almost like a dessert. Robert Graham Valour is also a borderline masterpiece and layers well with Fortitude. I have only smelled their other fragrance Courage one time and it wasn't anything special, but Fortitude and Valour are both absolutely phenomenal. 93/100

Listen up: Maceration is a real thing I started as a fan of Robert Graham's Courage, so when I saw a great deal on Fortitude I gave it a chance. When it arrived I opened it up and sprayed it on a card. Much to my disappointment, it was pretty lackluster. The tobacco note seemed cheap and the rest of the notes just seemed like a syrupy mess. It wasn't terrible, but it was flat and blah, not at all like Courage... So I shelved it. Then some months went by and the holidays rolled around. Wanting a "Christmas Carol"-like Christmasy scent, I thought I'd see if the cold, late fall, wintery season changed how the scent came off.. so I opened it again. This time when I sprayed it, it came to life. It was bold, strong, strikingly masculine, and robust. I was shocked. This was in no way the same fragrance I had smelled several short months ago.. The tobacco is dominant, and rich, and deep, and sweet thanks to the supporting lively patchouli and the smooth vanillic tonka. I never thought a tobacco scent could "sparkle", but this one does. If you want a masculine tobacco scent that commands respect by giving the image of a victorian ship captain smoking a pipe, but also has a subtle warm soft sweetness that says you also have a heart...Give this one a shot.

Nice! A warm sweet delicious creamy tobacco / tonka bean opening which gives this scent a vanilla vibe. A couple of hours in the patchouli comes out and adds a little spiciness to the scent. I do not get a Tobacco Vanille vibe on my skin, I get more of a 18.21 Sweet Tobacco vibe without the wine note. I have not tried Soul CoSTUME NATIONAL so I cannot comment on that one, but based on this one I will have to give Soul a try. I do get a Mugler Pure Tonka vibe, but lighter, during the dry down phase. I am not saying it smells just like Pure Tonka, but it does have that same feel, but lighter, to it. Fortitude is a non-offensive fragrance, meaning that not everyone will love it, but no one will hate it. That makes Fortitude a great office / daily / signature scent. Although this is marketed to men, I can easily see a woman wearing this. I can also see this one in either casual or a sports coat. Bottom line: If you like sweet tobacco scents, this one is worth a try.

I've been wearing this for a year now. I got a full bottle after running out of a sample, then found out it was being discontinued. Ever since then, I've bought backup bottles and watched this disappear from the internet. I'm legitimately heartbroken. This is an INCREDIBLE fragrance. Very simple, but powerful. My favorite tobacco fragrance, favorite tonka fragrance, favorite patchouli fragrance. They all blend together so very nicely. The longevity isn't beast mode, but it'll last a good 7-8 hours and smell nice the whole way down. Dries down very creamy and ambery. Everyone that got their hands on this... congratulations. Everyone else... well, I don't know what to say except that I feel your pain. I hope this comes back someday, or that a really good clone of it gets made, because Robert Graham Fortitude deserved better.

A tobacco scent with a strong, sweet whiskey-like tonka beans, & a hint of patchouli herbal muskiness. Sweet & softly woody. Reminds me a lot of Mancera's Red Tobacco & its clone Alexandria Hafez 1984, minus the spicy accord. Yet, because of the spicy accord that gives a lively warmth to RT/Hafez, I prefer them over Fortitude. Still, Fortitude has a hint of spiciness, likely from the patchouli. Also, in comparison, Fortitude feels a little mute or flatter compared to RT/Hafez. It's the lack of a spicy accord again. However, people who like Spicebomb & Bvlgari Man in Black will love Fortitude. It's right there with them. To me, if you draw a Venn diagram between RT/Hafez & Spicebomb/Black Man, the intersection is Fortitude! Overall, a lovely winter tobacco smell with strong tonka. Mature & elegant. Big "Like"!