Ink View - Sazerac: Papier Plume's Homage To New Orleans Official (Dr)Ink!

[Jackokun]

Ink View: Sazerac: Papier Plume’s homage to New Orleans official (dr)ink!

 

Before we go any further. I wanted to apologize as my initial goal was to get this out to you before the ink was out for sale or sold out, but some unforeseen delays (mail system - mainly -) got me the sample too late to provide a meaningful view .

 

I also want to thank Papier Plume for sending me a sample of this ink. and to Lapis for the earlier announcement.

 

Now that that’s out of the way, I hope you enjoy this ink view as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 

 

Sazerac, the drink and the (dr)ink.

 

The Drink

 

To start, you cannot talk about an ink about a drink, without talking about the said drink J (the rhyme was NOT on purpose). Sazerac is NOLA’s official cocktail drink. A heritage drink that dates back to the 19^th century, with some arguing that it was created in the mid 1800s and others in the late 1800s. Others will consider Sazerac America’s first cocktail.

 

What is unanimous, is that the drink was recorded (written) at the beginning of 20^th century and that the name was derived from the liquor used in the original recipe: a Cognac produced by the Sazerac de Forge et Fils house (expensive, expensive), and that one of the more characteristic ingredients is peychaud’s bitters, produced by Peychaud’s apothecary (the bitters are now own by the sazerac company).

 

Now again, some also say that it was Peychaud the one that had the recipe and shared the drink with his friends. But it wasn’t until the Sazerac bar (a bar that offered sazerac based drinks) that this drink was offered to a broader audience.

 

Regardless , it’s a drink that had survived alterations (instead of Cognac using Rye Whiskey, addition to absinthe), changing times (different owner’s) and prohibitions(alcohol prohibitions including absinthe). It might not be in every cocktail menu in NOLA, but can surely be ordered off the menu (if asked politely ).

 

As of 2008 The Sazerac became the official cocktail of New Orleans.

 

 

So how do you prepare a Sazerac? - not the topic of this view but here is a good link for those that are curious.

 

 

Now, let’s talk about the (dr)ink.

 

The Ink

 

Here is a shot of the bottles:

 

 

(Quick trivia what is the pen on the background ? – answer at the end )

 

This (ink) is the third installment in Papier Plume’s (PP) homage to its native city, the first two being Street Car Green and Calle real. As with their previous inks, the hues are inspired on what they are looking to pay tribute to, in this case the drink itself. And as Papier Plume: “The drink varies from red to a golden orange depending on the hand of the bartender.”

 

So, did the ink managed to achieve that? I think so, golden orange yes, red ? not to a deep red, but reddish tones. The shading is definitely there and it is strong. I’d say this before going any further – it does not smell or taste like the drink – shame!

 

Let’s see the swab in the Mnemosyne card:

 

 

This is definitely an orange family ink, it has yellow and redish tones depending on where and how much of the ink pools, my first impressions was how light it went on the paper.

 

I let a few drops fall on the swab to see how it behaved and also to get a feeling about the drying time (definitely not quick). It also gave me some idea that this would be a good shading ink; however it requires a somewhat wet pen to truly bring out its properties.

 

So on to the tools:

Pens:

Visconti HS Bronze – Medium, Van Graf FB – Sand – Medium, FC 02 Italian Glass - Broad Stub AND Twsbi Vac 700 Fine.

Paper:

Tomoe River, Rhodia, Rhodia R, Clairefountaine Thriomphe (CF), traditional copy paper and laid paper.

Tests:

Flow, saturation, shading, sheen, bleed-through, see-through/show-through, feathering and pooling. With other tests such as water, bleach and alcohol and dry times. Sometimes it will be a yes/no answer, sometimes 1-5 (1 being poor, 5 being excellent)

 

CrossOver Card

This is an idea I came about with my last ink view, it allows me to see all the papers and how the ink behaves across .

 

You can see that each column is representative of the paper used.

 

Thoughts on the ink-paper behavior

 

• Flow: Flow is good, very fluid, consistent across all papers and pens used
• Saturation: Medium, sometimes it looked more saturated depending on the paper, but it was within my expectations if I was looking for good shading.
• Sheen: None, Zip, nada.
• Shade: This is where this SHINES. Yes, this ink shades. I was able to get shading across the papers used. And all nib types (thumbs up)
• Bleed-through: None, not even on copy paper, under normal writing circumstances. That being said I did let a fair amount of ink pool and let it dry to see the result and under those circumstances it did bleed on most papers.
• Show-through: There is some slight, very slight on all papers with the exception of Rhodia R and Laid . However it is not enough (IMHO) to not be able to write on both sides.
• Feathering: Now I did experience some tiny (and I’m being picky) feathering using a very wet nib, on all papers but tomoe. Now to be fair this was a very wet nib that I was using to see how far I could take it. Please take note that you the paper you are using is sensitive to the oils of your hand this ink will feather where the oils mix with the paper.
• Pooling: (This is not the shading but more on the pooling on the edges of the letters, I enjoy when the inks provide this). There was none that I could observe in any of the papers
• Water Resistance: The tests shown on the card were done using an eyedropper, leaving it a few seconds then using a tissue paper to retrieve the excess. But offline I did a more smear/spread test. Tests show that the ink was not waterproof, but you could potentially recover some of the writing if need to be. Big shout to Tomoe river as the ink just held on to the paper, for a paper that rejects ink by nature it is a bit odd.
• Alcohol Resistance: Very consistent across. You would be able to recover from this one – almost no effect.
• Bleach Resistance: None, Zip , nada.
• Dry Times: As noted this is a wet ink and the drying times were there to support it with drying times that were around the 20sec mark and on some papers longer than that.

 

One thing I had not mentioned before it is how easy is to clean any of PP’s inks from the pens I have used them, I would attribute this to the fact that they are not meant to be waterproof, as well as that they are not viscose and not too saturated.

 

Here are some other inks for comparison,

 

From the top and then left to right:

 

Ink NameMakerOverall notes

AmberPelikanThis is a more yellow golden ink with great shading

SazeracPapier PlumeN/A

Copper OrangeLamyLooks dark compared to Sazerac, not a lot of shading and more saturated

Apache SunsetNoodlersDarker than Sazerac and renowned for its shading properties

PumpkinDiamineNo shading, super bright almost no hint of brown

HabaneroNoodlersApache’s darker shade or tanned brother haha!

 

And here is a quick sketch of the Sazerac to draw Sazerac !

Here is some Cursive and Block writing for reference.

 

Opinion

Personally: I am a fan of oranges, I am. So I would say I like this ink.

 

Objectively: this ink is not the easiest to have on a work environment, but everywhere else it would be a fun ink.

 

This is an ink with great shading properties and it doesn’t completely washes away if by accident some water gets poured on to the paper. It is pleasant to read but it is a wet ink so you might be looking a slightly more than average dry times, again it all depends on the paper and how wet you nib is.

 

I mentioned before that it goes lighter on the paper than any of the other inks I have, but that doesn’t mean there are others out there that could be in the same range and I don’t have or I have never tried (Caran d’ache saffron?, MB ink of Joy?, iroshizuku yu-yake?).

 

I’m very happy to have this ink as part of my orange repertoire

 

Availability

As noted at the beginning of this view this is now sold out. For this release Papier Plume increased the production from 30 to 55 1 Oz / 30ml bottles, but sadly it was sold out within the hour of its release. I would say this, if you can get a change to try it, I strongly recommend it.

 

 

 

For those that made it this far: what is the pen on the background of the bottle picture? The Answer : Visconti Van Gogh Room in Arles J

 

In addition, as with all the inks in this collection Papier Plume includes nice double side card with the history of what the ink pays respect to and a list/teaser of all the inks on the collection, they don't come with samples though, but 2 more to go!

 

Papier Plume notifies their ink availability through their newsletter first, then Instagram, then Facebook, and finally twitter (in that order).

 

Thank you for keeping up with me up to this point !

Edited July 22, 2016 by Jackokun

[lapis]

Thanks for the great review! Orange isn't one of my favourite colours (no hates offered here by me) but I must say that I love this ink's colourfulness. Such a joy, an unexpected delectation, delight and fruition. Okay, I guess it's the absinthe in it.

Also, thanks for pointing out that very important notification about their newsletter. That was my last word in -- as you wrote above -- the earlier announcement.

Mike

[Jackokun]

Ah yes, a shame that it doesn't taste like the drink !

 

On the notification front I added a link to the newsletter for those interested

 

Jack

 

Thanks for the great review! Orange isn't one of my favourite colours (no hates offered here by me) but I must say that I love this ink's colourfulness. Such a joy, an unexpected delectation, delight and fruition. Okay, I guess it's the absinthe in it.

Also, thanks for pointing out that very important notification about their newsletter. That was my last word in -- as you wrote above -- the earlier announcement.

Mike

 

[namrehsnoom]

What a very enjoyable review ! And I must say the color looks great.

Also +1 for the nice drawing - shows perfectly what the ink is capable of. Looking forward to more of your work !

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for this enticing review! Unlike others who are not enamored with orange, I would say it is my favorite color. (I even had orange leather interior installed in the last car I purchased & it had made me happy since 2005 when it was purchased.)

 

I have gone to "my account at Papier Plume, " to request addition to their mailing list & already received confirmation of same. I am very sorry not to have known of this ink because I am sure I would have enjoyed it as much as the other PP inks I use. IF I had not stopped drinking in 1985 I would mix myself a DOUBLE Sazarac to drown my sorrows over "missing" this ink. Sadly I value my sobriety more than another orange ink & will merely just again thank you for your introduction to this wonderful newest member of the Papier Plume ink family.

[Cyber6]

WOW.. FANTASTIC REVIEW!!!.... Thanks so much !!

 

Sazerac looks lovely.... :wub:

 

 

 

C.

[visvamitra]

Great review. The inks look really nice, especially that I enjoy oranges a lot. Excellent work, really. I'm really curious what will be your thoughts on new GvFC Violet Blue.

[AD64]

Thank you for a fantastic review. All the information and the art. It's a great color and I wish it was still in stock.

 

Any idea of how it might compare to Stipula Sapphron?

 

Best,

 

AD

[lapis]

Jackokun -- or anybody else, of course -- if you have both inks, go ahead any make a comparison here. Otherwise I'll do that tomorrow. It's now time for me to hit the sack.

 

Mike

[Jackokun]

What a very enjoyable review ! And I must say the color looks great.

Also +1 for the nice drawing - shows perfectly what the ink is capable of. Looking forward to more of your work !

 

Thanks ! I really like how it came out, took some tries to get it right

 

Thank you for this enticing review! Unlike others who are not enamored with orange, I would say it is my favorite color. (I even had orange leather interior installed in the last car I purchased & it had made me happy since 2005 when it was purchased.)

 

I have gone to "my account at Papier Plume, " to request addition to their mailing list & already received confirmation of same. I am very sorry not to have known of this ink because I am sure I would have enjoyed it as much as the other PP inks I use. IF I had not stopped drinking in 1985 I would mix myself a DOUBLE Sazarac to drown my sorrows over "missing" this ink. Sadly I value my sobriety more than another orange ink & will merely just again thank you for your introduction to this wonderful newest member of the Papier Plume ink family.

There are two more coming up, just waiting on the confirmation on how and when

 

WOW.. FANTASTIC REVIEW!!!.... Thanks so much !!

 

Sazerac looks lovely.... :wub:

 

 

 

C.

Thank you!

 

Great review. The inks look really nice, especially that I enjoy oranges a lot. Excellent work, really. I'm really curious what will be your thoughts on new GvFC Violet Blue.

Thanks Vis, as soon as I get it I'll post my thoughts!

 

Thank you for a fantastic review. All the information and the art. It's a great color and I wish it was still in stock.

 

Any idea of how it might compare to Stipula Sapphron?

 

Best,

 

AD

 

Jackokun -- or anybody else, of course -- if you have both inks, go ahead any make a comparison here. Otherwise I'll do that tomorrow. It's now time for me to hit the sack.

 

Mike

I don't have this one right now , I could get it fairly quick, but if you have it Mike , please post , if not just give me a few days

[AD64]

 

 

Thanks ! I really like how it came out, took some tries to get it right

 

 

There are two more coming up, just waiting on the confirmation on how and when

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Thanks Vis, as soon as I get it I'll post my thoughts!

 

 

 

 

I don't have this one right now , I could get it fairly quick, but if you have it Mike , please post , if not just give me a few days

 

Looking forward to seeing this!

 

Thanks everyone.

[lapis]

As mentioned above , here's a scan of Sazerac and Stipula (Calamo) Sapphron (Zafferano). For further comparison, a couple of other inks as well which came to mind. I mean, that's what they're there for! All with one and the same glass dip pen from Herbin on Rhodia 90 g/m² paper.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Papier%20Plumes%20Sazerac_2.jpg

 

Sure, some of those were already shown above by Jackokun, but the pen, paper, batch and hand may all play a role.

 

Duh!

[AD64]

As mentioned above , here's a scan of Sazerac and Stipula (Calamo) Sapphron (Zafferano). For further comparison, a couple of other inks as well which came to mind. I mean, that's what they're there for! All with one and the same glass dip pen from Herbin on Rhodia 90 g/m² paper.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Papier%20Plumes%20Sazerac_2.jpg

 

Sure, some of those were already shown above by Jackokun, but the pen, paper, batch and hand may all play a role.

 

Duh!

 

This kind of comparison is a delight and very useful too. Thank you for taking the time to do this and post it for us.

 

The Sazerac does have its own unique qualities that I appreciate even more now.

 

Thank you.

[lapis]

I mentioned before that it goes lighter on the paper than any of the other inks I have, but that doesn’t mean there are others out there that could be in the same range and I don’t have or I have never tried (Caran d’ache saffron?, MB ink of Joy?, iroshizuku yu-yake?).

 

Okay, okay, I missed out on the last two, so here goes....

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Papier%20Plumes%20Sazerac_3.jpg

 

Mike

[Tas]

Lovely review. Thank you !

[Pensei]

The format of this review is informative and entertaining. Now I want a drink.

[Jackokun]

Lovely review. Thank you !

Thank you !

 

The format of this review is informative and entertaining. Now I want a drink.

 

Much Appreciated

[Jackokun]

I would say Yu-yake would be something along the lines. I also tried Diamine Autumn Oak but I found it darker and with more brown in it.

 

 

 

Okay, okay, I missed out on the last two, so here goes....

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Papier%20Plumes%20Sazerac_3.jpg

 

Mike

[Barkingpig]

The format of this review is informative and entertaining. Now I want a drink.

 

 

I just want that great looking orange ink!

[Jackokun]

 

 

I just want that great looking orange ink!

 

I might spare a ml or 2 if really pushed for it