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Paper Plane

4.9

(131)

Two Paper Plane cocktails garnished with orange peels twisted into the shape of planes.
Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Drew Aichele, Prop Styling by Christina Allen

Named after M.I.A.’s hit song, the Paper Plane cocktail was created for the opening of the Violet Hour in Chicago by bartender Sam Ross circa 2007. (FYI, Ross also developed the Penicillin). Now considered a modern-classic cocktail, early iterations of the drink balanced the bittersweet Italian liqueur Campari with nutty Amaro Nonino, bourbon, and lemon juice, explains Robert Simonson in The Encyclopedia of Cocktails, but Ross swapped out higher-proof Campari for its more delicate sibling Aperol when he put it on the menu at New York City bars Milk & Honey and Little Branch. Since then the drink’s popularity has spread across North America.

If you’re new to mixing drinks, this aperitif is a good place to start since it’s an equal-parts cocktail recipe (and there’s no complicated garnish to master…unless you want to shape cute little orange or grapefruit zest airplanes). While a coupe is the traditional cocktail glass for serving it, a Nick and Nora glass (or even a rocks glass) would work if that’s what you have on hand.

Amaro Nonino Quintessentia is still the amaro of choice for this drink recipe, but you can play around, swapping it out for Montenegro, Averna, Sfumato, or another bottle that looks enticing.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    2 minutes

  • Yield

    Makes 2

Ingredients

ounces amaro (preferably Nonino)

ounces Aperol

ounces bourbon

ounces fresh lemon juice, strained

2

wide strips of orange peel for garnish (optional)

Preparation

  1. Combine 1½ oz. amaro (preferably Nonino), 1½ oz. Aperol, 1½ oz. bourbon, 1½ oz. fresh lemon juice, strained, in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until outside of shaker is frosty, about 20 seconds. Strain into 2 coupe glasses. Twist a 1 wide strip of orange peel (if using) over each glass to express its oils, drop the peel into the glass, and serve.

    Editor’s note: This Paper Plane cocktail recipe was first printed in our February 2016 issue. Head this way for more of our favorite bourbon cocktails

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Reviews (131)

Back to TopTriangle
  • I love equal parts. We couldn’t find Amaro nonino so used amaro averna. Delicious but brown cocktail. So we’ll continue our search for amaro nonino for presentation purposes.

    • Anonymous

    • St. Petersburg, Fl

    • 5/9/2023

  • I love a paper plane (ish) but don't do equal parts. 1.5 oz bourbon 1 oz each other ingredient, for one (one and done) drink. Such a solid recipe it's easy to modify too. I disagree about it needing good bourbon but it does benefit from assertive bourbon, particularly if making as written. Amaro Nonino or Amaro di Toscana. Or Heirloom Pineapple Amaro.

    • RobinFL

    • South of the south

    • 9/27/2022

  • Averna Amaro, Woodford, Aperol, and half the lemon juice. Fabulous! I'm a big Boulevardier fan, and this a nice change of pace, but not too different

    • Bill M

    • NJ

    • 7/11/2022

  • Definitely my wife's favorite and one of my favorite cocktails. Choose a good bourbon (at least Woodford's level), and stick with the others listed. We enjoyed one last night. As someone else wrote, this recipe came from Milk & Honey, not Pollack; you can check Sasha Petraske's book.

    • Commish

    • Minneapolis, MN

    • 4/14/2022

  • This drink was created by Sam Ross while at Milk and Honey in NYC. The credit should be given to him, not Pollack.

    • Anonymous

    • Los Angeles, CA

    • 1/31/2022

  • My favorite cocktail this year. Equal amounts of ingredients makes it easy to make - and therefore deadly!

    • Anonymous

    • Vermont

    • 1/28/2022

  • This is my absolute favorite cocktail. I have tried several different Amaro's and Amaro Montenegro is my favorite pairing. Amaro Nonino is also great though! Perfectly refreshing and complex. If you're looking for a drink that tastes clearly of bourbon, this is not it. I love bourbon but I would say this drink focuses more on the aperitif/deigestifs.

    • Anonymous

    • Cleveland, OH

    • 12/30/2021