Paper Plane
ClassicIBA OfficialBourbon, Aperol, amaro, lemon. Equal and perfect.
Bittersweet, herbal, and bright. Equal parts make it a study in balance: bourbon gives backbone, Aperol and Amaro Nonino layer bitter orange and gentle herbs, and fresh lemon cuts clean through the middle. Complex but approachable — sophisticated without being difficult.
Ingredients
- 0.75 oz Bourbon
- 0.75 oz Aperol
- 0.75 oz Amaro Nonino
- 0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Method
- 1
Add the bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice.
- 2
Shake until well-chilled.
- 3
Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
The Story
The Paper Plane is a modern classic, created around 2008 by bartender Sam Ross — of Penicillin fame — for a bar in Chicago, and named for the M.I.A. song "Paper Planes." Its beauty is its symmetry: four ingredients in perfectly equal measure, balancing bourbon's warmth, Aperol's bittersweet orange, Amaro Nonino's herbal depth, and fresh lemon's snap. Few contemporary drinks are so easy to remember or so hard to improve.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
