Paper Plane
Equal parts Aperol, Amaro Nonino, bourbon, and fresh lemon juice shaken into a bittersweet, perfectly balanced modern classic.
Prep: 5 min · Cook: 0 min · Total: 5 min · Serves: 2 · Difficulty: Easy · Rating: 4.7/5 (287 reviews)
INSPIRED BY
The Paper Plane was created by bartender Sam Ross around 2008 and named after the M.I.A. song. Its genius is the equal-parts formula: one ounce of each ingredient, no fussing with ratios. It introduced a lot of people to amaro as a cocktail ingredient rather than a digestif, and it has stayed on menus and home bars ever since.
Story
I had the Paper Plane for the first time at a small cocktail bar in Chicago, the kind with a short menu written on a chalkboard above the bar. I ordered it because I liked the name and because my usual order (whiskey sour) felt boring that night. The bartender set it down, no explanation, pale orange in a coupe. I took a sip and genuinely could not identify all the flavors in it. It was sour, bitter, sweet, and herbal at the same time, and somehow those things were not fighting each other. I went home and tried to recreate it and immediately made the classic beginner mistake: I free-poured everything and trusted my eye. The drink came out flat and too sweet because I had used way too much Aperol. The whole point of this cocktail is that each ingredient is exactly one ounce. The Aperol wants to take over if you give it the chance. So I bought a jigger, which I had been avoiding for years on the theory that I didn't need one, and measured everything. The difference was immediate and obvious. Amaro Nonino is the ingredient people get stuck on. It is Italian, herbal, slightly bitter, and not cheap. But it is doing real work in this drink. The first time I bought a bottle I was nervous about using it for one cocktail, but then I started adding it to espresso on Sunday mornings and using it in other stirred drinks and the bottle was gone within a month. It is one of those bottles that earns its shelf space. I make this drink now when I want to impress someone who knows their way around a cocktail menu. It looks elegant, it tastes complex, and when they ask what's in it and I say four things, all equal, they never quite believe it. That disbelief is half the fun.
By Casey
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 2 oz Aperol
- 2 oz Amaro Nonino
- 2 oz fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 2 cups ice
- 2 lemon twists or wheels, for garnish
Instructions
- Chill two coupe glasses by filling them with ice water. Let them sit while you prepare the cocktail.
- Juice the lemons and measure 2 oz total. Fresh lemon juice is non-negotiable for this drink.
- Measure 1 oz each of bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. The equal-parts ratio is the recipe; do not estimate.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds until the outside is very cold.
- Empty the ice water from the chilled coupes.
- Double-strain into the coupes using the shaker strainer and a fine-mesh strainer. Garnish with a lemon twist and serve.
Chef Tips
- Use a jigger and measure precisely. The whole beauty of this cocktail is the equal-parts balance, and even a quarter ounce off in any direction shows. If Amaro Nonino is too expensive or hard to find, Amaro Montenegro makes a decent substitute, though the drink will taste a bit less complex and slightly sweeter.
Cook's Notes
- **Amaro substitute:** Amaro Montenegro is the most common swap for Nonino; the drink will be slightly sweeter and less complex.
- **Bourbon choice:** A 90-proof bourbon with some sweetness (like Buffalo Trace) works well; very high rye bourbons can clash with the bitter notes.
- **Measure precisely:** The equal-parts ratio is the whole recipe; even a small imbalance disrupts the flavor.
- **Make-ahead:** Pre-batch the four ingredients without ice and refrigerate; shake to order.
- **Equipment:** A fine-mesh strainer gives a clean pour without foam or ice chips.
- **Common mistake:** Free-pouring Aperol leads to a too-sweet drink; always use a jigger.
- **Citrus:** Squeeze fresh lemon just before shaking for the brightest flavor.