Goulet Pens Ink Drop Subscription Review – January 2016

Goulet Pen’s Ink Drop is a monthly fountain pen ink sampling subscription. Every month you’ll receive 5 new samples of fountain pen ink, usually themed in some interesting and unique way.

This month’s ink drop sought to capture a sense of coziness and wooly comfort to offset what is typically a chilly month for many.  In their effort to do this, the Goulets turned to ink brands De Atramentis, J. Herbin, and Private Reserve.

The box includes a sticker and a bookmark.

• De Atramentis Jane Austen
• De Atramentis Edgar Allan Poe
• De Atramentis William Shakespeare
• J. Herbin Cafe des Iles
• Private Reserve Gray Flannel

Writing samples were done on a Rhodia Ice pad and, in an effort to flush out any hidden sheen, pieces of Tomoe River paper.  Due to the limited quantity of the ink samples, a Zebra Titanium G dip nib was used for the writing samples.

The first offering to help us through the winter month is De Atramentis’ Edgar Allen Poe.  This well-behaving ink is a healthy green that puts one in mind of a darker shade of Spearmint.  It showed up well in writing samples as a color that was dark enough not to draw attention immediately and yet be unmistakable as a green upon closer inspection.  To me, it seemed to flow more readily off of the nib than other inks, leading to more frequent dips and the occasional blob when flexing, but aside from these, it performed well.

The second ink in the drop is De Atramentis’ William Shakespeare.  The only reddish ink in the drop, this offering could best be described as an antique or dusty rose.  It’s lovely to see on paper with firm, greyed red lines and lighter rose tones on the lighter strokes.  A nice medium or broad nib would showcase this ink well. 

Our tour of the De Atramentis offerings ends with another of their green inks, Jane Austen.  This shade takes a few steps away from their Edgar Allen Poe green by leaving behind the bluer undertones.  This is a more natural, almost mossy green and looks quite dark with a finer nib. 

Café des Iles means, ‘Coffee of the islands’, and this warm brown by J. Herbin does an excellent job of conjuring up a steaming cup of java in one’s mind.  This color has just a hint of orange, giving it a rich presentation on paper and is also the only ink that showed even a hint of sheen.  A nice green shimmer was just visible on both the Rhodia and Tomoe papers where the strokes were the heaviest or overlapped.  Though beautiful in finer nibs, a broader one might help to show this ink’s lighter tones. 

Last on the list, and unquestionably my favorite, is Private Reserve’s Gray Flannel.  I would call this ink more of a blue-gray, rather than a gray-blue and it is this perhaps that ensures that the ink makes a strong presentation when writing unlike some of the other gray inks that tend to come out very light on paper.  When first swabbed, this ink had a distinct look of a darker turquoise, but when dry, it assumes the beautiful color more reminiscent of the underside of a snow cloud. 

As a member you also receive access to a special discount page where you can purchase bottles of the sampled ink at a discount. I will be taking advantage of this deal for the irresistible Gray Flannel.

FYI – This box made our list of subscription boxes $10 and under every month!

Visit Ink Drop to subscribe or find out more!