Paper Plane Cocktail Recipe

Before you start

The Paper Plane is a modern classic built on four equal parts: bourbon, Aperol, a bittersweet Italian amaro and fresh lemon. It behaves like a sour, but with two modifiers instead of one sugar source. Aperol brings orange and gentle bitterness, the amaro adds caramel and herbs, and the lemon keeps everything lively. The result is bright orange, easy to drink and more layered than its short ingredient list suggests.

Most published specs call for Amaro Nonino, a grappa-based amaro with a light, orange-peel sweetness. Heavier amari make a darker, more bitter drink, which can be good but changes the balance. Use a bourbon around 45% ABV so the whiskey is not lost, and keep the measures exact; with four ingredients at 22 ml each, eyeballing one of them shifts the whole drink.

Ingredients

• 22 ml (¾ oz) bourbon — around 45% ABV holds up best
• 22 ml (¾ oz) Aperol
• 22 ml (¾ oz) Amaro Nonino — or another light, orange-toned amaro
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice — strained
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking

Method

1. Chill a coupe in the freezer or with ice water while you prepare the drink.
2. Juice the lemon and pass the juice through a fine strainer. Lemon squeezed within the last few hours tastes cleaner and less bitter than older juice.
3. Measure the bourbon, Aperol, amaro and lemon into the shaker. A jigger with a clear ¾-ounce line makes the equal-parts build easy.
4. Fill the shaker two-thirds with ice, close it and shake vigorously for 10 to 12 seconds, until the tin is frosted.
5. Discard the water from the coupe and double-strain the drink into it. There is no garnish in the classic spec, though a tiny paper plane clipped to the rim is a common bar joke.

Tips for success

• Taste your amaro on its own before mixing. If it is very bitter, the drink will be too, and no amount of shaking will fix that.
• Because there is no added syrup, the sweetness comes entirely from Aperol and amaro. Old, oxidized bottles of either taste flat; keep them capped.
• If you are making several, pre-combine the bourbon, Aperol and amaro in a bottle and add the lemon just before shaking.

Substitutions

Amaro Nonino

Amaro Montenegro is lighter and floral; Averna is darker and sweeter with cola notes. Both work, but each pushes the drink in its own direction.

Bourbon

Rye makes a spicier, drier Paper Plane. A lower-proof bourbon (40% ABV) gets drowned out by the modifiers.

Aperol

Campari makes the drink markedly more bitter and red. Try 15 ml Campari with 7 ml simple syrup to keep the balance.

Variations

Rye Plane

Use rye whiskey and Amaro Montenegro for a drier, more floral take.

Tall Paper Plane

Shake as usual, strain over fresh ice in a highball and top with 60 ml soda water for a lighter aperitivo drink.

Troubleshooting

It tastes too bitter

Your amaro is heavier than Nonino, or the lemon is old. Switch to a lighter amaro and squeeze fresh lemon.

It tastes sweet and soft

The lemon is under-measured or the shake was short. Check the jigger and shake until the tin is painfully cold.

The whiskey disappears

Use a bourbon closer to 45–50% ABV, or nudge it up to 30 ml while keeping the other three at 22 ml.

Storage

Serve immediately after shaking. Fresh lemon juice dulls within a day, so squeeze only what you need. The spirit-only portion (bourbon, Aperol, amaro) can be pre-mixed and kept in a sealed bottle at room temperature or in the fridge.

Safety notes

Contains roughly 1.2 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol) from the bourbon, Aperol and amaro combined. For adults of legal drinking age only; do not drive after drinking.