Most cocktail specs are fussy about proportions: two parts of this, a quarter of that. The Paper Plane is the opposite. Four ingredients, all the same amount. It is easy to remember, easy to batch, and a good place to learn what each ingredient is actually doing, because when everything is equal, you can nudge one part and taste the difference.
| Ingredient | Classic measure |
|---|---|
| Bourbon | 22.5 ml (¾ oz) |
| Amaro Nonino Quintessentia | 22.5 ml (¾ oz) |
| Aperol (or a similar bittersweet orange aperitivo) | 22.5 ml (¾ oz) |
| Fresh lemon juice | 22.5 ml (¾ oz) |
Method: shake everything hard with ice for about 10 to 15 seconds, then fine-strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist, or nothing at all: the IBA serves it without, while others add a twist or a tiny paper plane on the rim.
The Paper Plane was created by bartender Sam Ross at The Violet Hour in Chicago in the late 2000s (sources give 2007 or 2008). Ross has described it as a riff on the Last Word, the Prohibition-era drink of equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime. The name comes from the M.I.A. track he and his colleagues had on repeat while working on it. His first version used Campari, but he found it too bitter and moved to the gentler, sweeter Aperol. He also tried rye, applejack and brandy as the base before settling on bourbon.
Each ingredient covers one job, and they balance each other. Bourbon brings body, vanilla and a little sweetness. Amaro Nonino is a bittersweet Italian liqueur based on grappa, with orange peel, caramel and warm spice. Aperol adds bright orange and a light bitterness. Lemon adds the sour that keeps the whole thing from being syrupy. The sweetness from the bourbon, amaro and Aperol is held in check by the acid, and the bitterness stops the sweetness from tipping over into sugary.
The weak point is the amaro. Nonino is the one that is hard to swap, because it is both bitter and rich. That is why the drink is so often made with the exact bottle named in the spec.
Drag the sliders to move each ingredient away from the classic 22.5 ml and watch what changes. The numbers are rough estimates, using typical strengths of about 45% for bourbon, 35% for Amaro Nonino and 11% for Aperol, plus around 25 to 30 percent water added by shaking. Real bottles and real ice vary.
Try pushing the lemon down and the bourbon up: it gets rounder and sweeter, closer to a whiskey sour with a bitter edge. Take the Aperol down and it gets deeper and more herbal. The drink holds together over a decent range, but the sour is the first thing to go wrong. Too little lemon and the whole thing feels heavy; too much and the bourbon disappears.
Rye instead of bourbon gives a drier, spicier version. Campari instead of Aperol returns to Ross's first idea: stronger, more bitter and more grown-up. If you cannot find Nonino, another amaro of the same style can stand in, but expect a different drink.
A low or no version. Use an alcohol-free whisky-style spirit, an alcohol-free bittersweet orange aperitif, fresh lemon, and replace the amaro with a little strong cold black tea and a bar spoon of honey syrup for the bitterness and body. It will not be a Paper Plane exactly, but the same balance of bitter, sweet and sour carries over, and it is worth tuning with the sliders above.
At roughly 17 to 19 percent alcohol this is not a light drink, even though it tastes bright. One is plenty for most people. Sip it, eat something with it, and never drink and drive.