12 Days of Inkmas: Private Reserve Spearmint

Inspired by Kenouni Renoshin‘s suggestion that I do more ink reviews, I give to you the first day of the 12 Days of Inkmas. Cheers!

Private Reserve Spearmint was part of the December Ink Drop from Goulet Pens. This month, the sample assortment included eight different colors from Private Reserve, favorites of the staff at Goulet in memory of the creator of Private Reserve, Terry Johnson.

Private Reserve Spearmint should probably have been named Christmas Green as it is the perfect true green for addressing holiday cards and gift tags. Its not a pine green or deep forest or evergreen but and “Hello! Grab your elf hat we’ve got some egg nog. Now let’s sing some carols!!” green.

Flow was good and it dried in reasonable time. I completely forgot to water test it (the egg nog is to blame, I’m sure) but I don’t expect it to be particularly water resistant so try not to spill any nog on you “Nice” list or you’ll have to start over.

In the swab, you can see the bright, kelly green that may appear in the shading of line work with PR Spearmint. Its a cheery Christmas green for sure.

When compared with other greens in my collection, the colors that were closest to Spearmint is probably Diamine Apple Glory 80ml ($12.75) or Rohrer & Klingner Verdura 50ml ($12). They are close but not exact matches.

Private Reserve Spearmint is sold in 50ml bottles for $8.80.

The samples above were written with a TWSBI Mini EF fountain pen in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.