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Fall

Paper Plane Cocktail

April 10, 2021
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars /
12 Ratings4.6 total ratings /
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Makes 1
Author Notes

Courtesy of Sam Ross of New York's Little Branch. —Ali Slagle

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3/4 ounce bourbon
  • 3/4 ounce Amaro Nonino
  • 3/4 ounce Aperol
  • 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
  1. Shake everything in a shaker with ice until the outside of the shaker is frosty.
  2. Strain into a coupe.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Lydia
    Lydia
  • Teresa
    Teresa
  • copper9lives
    copper9lives
  • Bevi
    Bevi
  • annemlock
    annemlock

9 Reviews

Lydia March 12, 2025
The Paper Plane is a fantastic part of what has become a base formula for those of us who create, a genre of drinks calling for 4 equal parts of a base liquor, an amaro, a citrus or bright thing, and another amaro or carrier liquor. It's almost foolproof, but some are exquisite. The Last Word is another success and one of my favorites - gin, chartreus, marachino-luxardo, and lime.
 
Teresa January 14, 2025
I tried this smashing cocktail for the first time on New Year's Eve 2014 at an LA restaurant. Since then, my bar is always stocked with Amaro Nonino, which can sometimes be difficult to find (even in Italy, crazily enough). In a pinch, one can use Montenegro, which bartenders seem to have more readily available.
 
Claire January 11, 2025
I alright left a review, but I would have given it 10 stars out of 5
 
Claire January 11, 2025
So I gathered all the ingredients, the only thing I had to visit The total wine for was the Amaro, which the very helpful staff member helped me find.
The cocktail was DELIGHTFUL!
I am using all caps because I really mean it.
Will definitely use the recipe that is so easy to triple and quadruple for as many people as you are serving it for. Maybe freshly picked lemons from my tree made the difference, but I will be definitely making it again and again
Thanks so much for the great experience!
 
Lydia March 12, 2025
You actually used two amaros! 😁 Amaro is a class of liquors (more of an umbrella term) that are blended from bitters and aromatics and are usually bitter and almost always sweet. It's an Italian word and there are amari from all the regions of Italy, but Aperol and Campari are two that are most universal and quite bitter. The Nonino is more textured, sweeter, and more botanical than Aperol, but same idea - highly flavored, preciously blended, super idiosyncratic. Amaretto is another you may know - made from almonds (which are bitter at strength) or sometimes cherries (as in DiSaronno), and some come from other countries like France and even the US! Several brands of Fernet (another subset of amaro) are made in the US, others made with artchokes, cranberries, gentian, bitter hops, foresty-stuff. Telling you because you loved it so, and I'm guessing this is a direction you'd like opened to you. ❤️
 
RachieCook October 21, 2022
A high value, classic cocktail: fabulously balanced and a cinch to make.
 
copper9lives January 8, 2021
I am a fan of tart flavors; less so, of sweet. This had such a gorgeous balance of sweet and tart, with the subtle bitter of the Amaro (I used Angostura Amaro)! It was bright, warm, and the flavors melded wonderfully. As an aperitif, digestif, or cocktail party/holiday special, this drink does it all! New fave for me!
 
Bevi October 5, 2020
I love this drink.
 
annemlock December 24, 2015
This has been our new favorite cocktail this Fall!
 

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