12 Days of Inkmas: Private Reserve Avocado

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!

For the sixth day of Inkmas, I thought I’d do one more green ink: Private Reserve Avocado. This is also another of the colors from the December Ink Drop in honor of Private Reserve founder Terry Johnson. You’re surprised I’ve only had two green inks in Inkmas, right? Me too.

(Note: I cannot spell Avocado without the aid of spell check so please do not remind me!) I have been having fun using a watercolor brush and dipping the inks to get a better example of the shading and color depth of each of the inks. Depending on the shading, P.R. Avocado can look as light as a bright spring green to as dark as a green-black on the pine-y side. In fine nibbed pens like the one I used for my writing sample, the color is a lightly shaded deep green. In wider nibs, you’ll see more of the color variation.

I’ve had a bottle of Avocado on hand for quite some time and think of it as one of my go-to “neutrals”. Its dark enough to be used on a daily basis but adds a little of color variety. This is one of the big draws of fountain pens for me — color options.

In the swab, you can see how deep the green can get and the sort of evergreen/olive tone overall. In the water test, you can see the halo of red so there’s definitely some red in the ink that dulls down the brightest of the green. Kind of cool!

 

There’s such a diversity in green inks– some are more blue, some more black, some more yellow– it was hard to find a close comparison to Private Reserve Avocado. The colors I used for comparison all brought a different vibe than Avocado. Rohrer & Klingner Verdura 50ml ($12) is probably closer in color to Private Reserve Spearmint, Scribal Workshop Leviathan is much more of a green-black with a blue undertone, Diamine Meadow 80ml ($12.50) is a springier, yellow-green and De Atramentis Sandalwood 35ml ($12.50) is much more blue. The closest is probably De Atramentis Fir 35ml ($12.50) although my sample above is much runnier (thank you, dip pen) and its scented so it smells a bit like Pine-Sol.

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

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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.