Papier Plume makes its fountain pen inks in the back of its store in the French Quarter of New Orleans, by hand, in small batches. They will make 120 bottles of each of Bootlegger’s Sacrament and Da Blue.
Last year Papier Plume also made two special inks for the Chicago Pen Show: Ivy 108 and Lake Michigan Summer. The 2017 Chicago inks were summery colors. This year’s inks are rich, dark and wintery-feeling.
The first 2018 Chicago ink from Papier Plume is Bootlegger’s Sacrament.
As the name implies, Bootlegger’s Sacrament is a nod to Chicago’s history during Prohibition. I didn’t know this, but sacramental wine was exempt from Prohibition.
The ink Bootlegger’s Sacrament is a dusky purple with a red tint, a little like grape skin. The wax seal on top of the bottle cap is white to represent the Eucharist.
Papier Plume’s second 2018 Chicago ink, Da Blue, is a tribute to an entirely secular devotion: the love of this city for our Chicago Bears football team, who are sometimes dubbed “Da Bears,” in the local patois immortalized by Saturday Night Live.
Da Bears have uniforms of navy blue, so Papier Plume came up with an ink called Da Blue.
Da Blue is a blue black, and, as one would expect of any ink named after Da Bears, it is 100 percent awesome. If Da Blue were coached by Mike Ditka this ink would beat the New England Patriots 99 games in a row, even though it’s an ink, not even a football team. It is that awesome.
Because of the incredible demand for last year’s Chicago inks, this year Papier Plume will double the number of Chicago inks made to 120 bottles of each, as noted above. Papier Plume will take the entire batch to the Chicago Pen Show to sell, starting Friday, May 4. If any bottles remain, Papier Plume will sell those on their website after the show. The inks will cost $10 and come in one ounce (30 ml) bottles.
Papier Plume said they intend to not make these Chicago inks again. Like Super Bowl victories by the Chicago Bears, then, bottles of Da Blue and Bootlegger’s Sacrament seem destined to be once-in-a-lifetime events. If you’re interested, don’t let them pass you by.
Fountain Pen Follies 
Gorgeous colors. Will you have a meet and greet? I’m going to the Chicago pen show and would love to meet you!
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I’d love to meet you, too. The best part of these shows for me is hanging out. Let’s set something up — just email me at the Contact link above, or at my email on the show’s website. There’s also the show’s Saturday Night Party, and the Pizza Dinner on Thursday … and the Ink Testing Station. You’re going to see so much of me you’ll run the other way. The only place you won’t see me is the Whisky Tasting. 🙂
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Ha, I highly doubt that! Yes, I will email you. Sounds like there will be a lot of exciting events going on!
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One day I’m hoping to be able to arrange my travel so that I can hit up a pen show on the way to somewhere else. And Chicago is top of my list for shows, as it would be a new city for me too. Have fun! 🙂
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I hope so! It’s a beautiful city, too, with really interesting neighborhoods and a lot of culture. And great food. 🙂
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I am so glad I’m able to go to the Chicago pen show this year!!! I definitely require Da (Bears) Blue in my life! And I have a soft spot for reddy purples, so probably going to go for the other one as well.
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The only bad thing about Da Blue, to me, is it’s limited. I’m going to hoard a few bottles. 🙂
Bootlegger’s Sacrament is good, too.
Also: you’re coming?! Yay! I hope you can come say hi and hang out with me for a few minutes, at least. Feel free to email me, at the blog email or my email that’s on the pen show website.
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Bootlegger’s Sacrament looks gorgeous. I look forward to seeing more reviews on these inks!!
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Boolegger’s? 🙂
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I’m sure I’ve got 3,000 typos in that post. Been one of those weeks. Good to have company. 🙂
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I love that deep burgundy of the Boolegger’s; it’s like a rich claret. And eight bucks for 30ml–even in CAD–is pretty good too (that’s been much on my mind recently:) ). Very nice, I’m looking forward to the review/s!
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Both are really nice!
But actually, Papier Plume just told me they’ve had to increase the price, because of increased cost of production and such. But it’s still only $10, and I still think it’s a bargain. Not just in comparison to what other inks cost, but because they are so nice, and they are limited. And not for nothing, you should see these wax seals: there’s gold!
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Even with the exchange rate, that’s still a good price for a limited edition ink.
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I think so, too. 🙂
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Great names!
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Agreed!
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