Cocktail recipe
Paper Plane
A bold but agile bourbon sour with bittersweet orange, aromatic amaro and an energetic lemon finish.
Ingredients
- 30 ml (1 oz) bourbon whiskey
- 30 ml (1 oz) bitter-orange aperitivo, Aperol-style
- 30 ml (1 oz) grappa-based Italian amaro, Nonino-style
- 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lemon juice
- Garnish: none
Preparation
Measure equal parts into a shaker, add plenty of ice and shake until thoroughly cold. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe; leave the surface clean and ungarnished.
Glassware
Chilled coupe
History
Sam Ross developed the Paper Plane for The Violet Hour in Chicago, with the first documented menu appearance in summer 2008; some accounts date the initial experimentation to 2007. Ross told Liquor.com that the drink began as a riff on the Last Word's equal-parts architecture. The earliest version used Campari, but he soon switched to Aperol, which became the recognized standard alongside bourbon, Amaro Nonino and lemon. The name nods to M.I.A.'s song 'Paper Planes', which Ross recalled hearing repeatedly while developing it. Ross's own account supports the transition more strongly than a single unqualified invention date.
Mixology View
The modern Aperol formula is the canonical service, while the Campari prototype belongs in the history. The house recipe follows the 1:1:1:1 architecture; amaro style matters greatly to the result.