Last year I placed my first order with Pittsburgh-based Birmingham Pen Company, and ended up with a handful of interesting colors. The first ink I reviewed was Angelfish, one of their “Rich” formulation inks, and I particularly enjoyed the fact that this sheeny blue ink dried quickly and didn’t bleed, smear, or feather in the same way that many other super-saturated inks have a tendency to do. I’ve actually had Angelfish inked up since I reviewed it, and would even go so far as to call it a potential workhorse.
A second Birmingham ink I’ve enjoyed is Ancho Chili Pepper, one of those colors that defies description, in that it’s a greenish-brownish-grey, which on some papers shows purplish or red undertones, especially when still wet. Ancho Chili Pepper features Birmingham’s “Crisp” formulation, meaning that the ink has been crafted to perform well on “a variety of premium, mid-range, and discount papers.” For me, this screams “workhorse ink,” and I can confirm that this ink largely lives up to its promises.
The brown and reddish tones are most visible when the ink is still wet. As it dries, Ancho Chili Pepper takes on a more green-grey hue.
For one thing, the muted color fits me perfectly, in that it not only falls into my one of my personal favorite color schemes (dark greens, or should I say “green-ish inks”), but it’s the sort of office-appropriate muted color that stays interesting while not being overly ostentatious. I’ve found this ink performs quite well on high-end and mid-range papers, though I did experience some minor bleed-through and a touch of feathering with cheap copy paper. (I suspect it might perform better in a narrower nib - my long-term test pen has been a medium TWSBI Diamond 580 Rose Gold II, and I’ve found the rose gold plated TWSBI nibs to write a wetter line than their steel equivalents.)
I always opt for the smaller, 30ml bottle, but if you really enjoy certain colors you can purchase as much as 120ml of ink in an eyedropper bottle for only a minor upcharge.
I continue to be impressed with Birmingham inks, which can only be ordered directly from the Birmingham Pen Company website, including Ancho Chili Pepper. Most inks are available in 30ml, 60ml, and 120ml bottle options, and Ancho Chili Pepper is reasonably priced at $13, $16, and $19, respectively. The inks are hand-mixed in small batches, so certain colors go in and out of stock, but keep checking back if what you want is not available at the moment.
I purchased the ink featured in this review with my own funds, for my own personal use. This post does not contain third-party affiliate links. T.G.S. is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!