Ishimaru’s Color Bar - Gimlet

Color Bar Gimlet - Ink drop

Ink number 91 in Ishimaru’s Color Bar Ink collection is Gimlet. Color Bar inks are all named for cocktails, and this matches the name pretty well. I chose it along with two others, because I like verdant greens, and I thought the three created a nice palette.

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

Gimlet is an energetic, ivy or bamboo green. It reminded me of Koke-iro from TAG’s Kyo-no-oto series, which is a color I’ve always enjoyed. Gimlet’s green is filled with life, and the verdant green has a lot of sophistication. I like it very much. There’s good shading, which brings oout the yellows that dominate the chromatography. This adds touches of lightness and happy thoughts of spring.

Ink Swatches on Iroful and Takasago Bank papers

Gimlet is noticeably wetter than the previous two that I’ve reviewed from Color Bar. I think it’s even more smooth flowing and comfortable for it. (It’s also much wetter than Koke-iro, which is welcomed.) Written strokes were largely clean and sharp, but for some reason there was a bit of feathering on both Cosmo Air Snow and Iroful. Other than that, it’s a pretty well-behaved ink, and I’d still call it a nice writing ink. Ghosting was very minimal, and bleeding was non-existant.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

I definitely recommend Color Bar Gimlet, especially if you prefer earthier greens to more standard emeralds. Like all Color Bar inks, it comes in a 23 ml botttle and is very reasonably priced. You can buy it in-person at Ishimaru, or order from them directly through their website.

Color Bar Gimlet ink writing samples

Color Bar Gimlet swatch card

Color Bar Gimlet ink comparisons

Color Bar Gimlet ink sample bottle