Ink Review: Papier Plume Sazerac

After recording the Gift Guide episode of the Pen Addict podcast, I fell victim to our own enabling and bought some of the Papier Plume Sazerac ink. See? We are even dangerous to each other!

Sazerac is part of their New Orleans themed ink collection and being a cocktail connoisseur, I couldn’t resist trying a bottle.

The color is a warm, vivid orange reminiscent of the color of a Sazerac cocktail viewed in the glass. There are lots of interpretations of the recipe but all are variations of rye whiskey, Peychaud’s Bitters, a twist of lemon and the glass is coated with absinthe. Some recipes add a little simple syrup or sugar and the original recipes included cognac. No matter how you drink it, you’ll agree that Papier Plume’s Sazerac ink is a pretty close color match.

The ink shades nicely and has lovely variation. My biggest issue was that the ink was much lighter wet than dry making it a little difficult to write with in some light.

For color comparison, Sazerac is warmer, more whiskey-like than Noodler’s Summer Tanager ad Dragon Napalm. Sazerac was also a bit warmer and richer than the new Sailor Kin-Mokusei which is a very bright, sunny orange. Sazerac is more on the orange side of the spectrum than Fuyugaki and the now-discontinued Sailor Jentle Apricot which are both more red.

Overall, at a mere $8 per bottle, the Papier Plume inks are definitely worth the investment. I like the wax seal cap though it did make closing the bottle a bit more challenging. I would, however, be willing to pay a dollar or two more per bottle for a nicer label.