Private Reserve Black Cherry: Ink Review

Private Reserve Black Cherry, is a gorgeous fountain pen ink in the burgundy family. It isan all around great ink to write with. What makes this special? Read our review and decide for yourself!

Private Reserve Black Cherry writing sample

Supplies Used:

LAMY AL-star with medium steel nib (also EF and B nib)
Rhodia No. 16 dotpad, 80g white paper
Tomoé River white paper
Moleskine notebook

Smear Test (Dry Time):

Slow– It takes 30+ seconds on Rhodia paper for this ink to dry. This may be one you set aside to dry before turning the page
This is definitely a slow drier. It can smear if you don't give it enough time to dry, so if you are a fast writer this may not be the ink for you.

Drip Test (Water Resistance):

Low– This one would be really difficult to read if you got a page of writing wet. On the plus side, it looks great when used as an ink wash

Saturation:

High– this is a highly pigmented ink but it does give some excellent shading

Ease of Cleaning:

Easy– Since this ink isn't water resistant at all, it washes away quickly

Shading:

High– this ink gives lovely shades from a dusty pink to a deep burgundy. Yum!

Flow:

Medium– It has a consistent flow that tends would trend toward wet if used with a stub or flex nib

Packaging and Aesthetics:

66ml bottle
Utilitarian box and bottle, nothing fancy
Wide necked bottle, very easy to fill

Inks similar in color:

Summary:

Private Reserve Black Cherry is a unique ink in the Private Reserve line. If you want a great shading ink for writing or for art, this would make a great addition to your collection. It is cheerful with depths making it pleasant for long writing sessions.