Paper Plane Cocktail Recipe – Aperol, Bourbon, Lemon & Amaro
What does a Paper Plane cocktail taste like?
This Paper Plane drink recipe is a delicious Aperol bourbon cocktail that is easy to make. It has a wonderful citrusy flavor and the bitter Aperol gives it a nice familiar flavor. If you love Aperol spritzes, you will love this cocktail. You don’t even have to be a bourbon or whiskey fan. The bourbon in this cocktail has a really mild flavor and a taste of fall. It has such a great balance of flavor. The combination of the 4 ingredients is really unexpectedly delicious. Now I am wondering if there are any other great Aperol bourbon cocktails out there!
What’s in a Paper Plane?
It’s made of equal parts, bourbon, Aperol, lemon juice and Amaro. It could not be any easier! I love how it has four really simple ingredients. I love a cocktail where I don’t even have to add soda water or homemade simple syrup. This would also be a great recipe to pre-batch in advance if you want to make it for a larger crowd. I would still shake up the cocktail in a small batch with ice in the cocktail shaker to serve!
I found the Paper Plane cocktail on the menu at a local restaurant this fall. It was one of their seasonal cocktails. I made my husband order it because I wasn’t sure if I would like it since I don’t normally order an Aperol bourbon cocktail. After I tried his cocktail, I ordered it for my next drink. I was hooked! The next day we went back to the restaurant and asked for the Paper Planes to-go! I finally purchased all of the ingredients so we could make it at home. We have been serving them up for happy hour at our house. All of our friends now love them!
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce bourbon (I use Buffalo Trace or Basil Hayden)
- 3/4 ounce Aperol – Italian aperitif
- 3/4 ounce Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
- 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Next, shake until chilled. Then, strain into a coupe glass.
If you are worried about the food dye in Aperol like I am, you can use the alternate recipe below. I found a great Aperol alternative called Walcher Apertivo Rondo Spritz. But I found it tastes better if you add a bit more into the recipe and a little less lemon juice. The Amaro Nonino does have caramel coloring in it but I haven’t found a dye free alternative for that one yet. I will be sure to update this post once I do.
Ingredients (using a dye-free Aperol alternative)
- 3/4 ounce bourbon (I use Buffalo Trace or Basil Hayden)
- 1 ounce Walcher – Aperitivo Rondo Spritz
- 3/4 ounce Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
This recipe is really easy to tweak to your liking! If you enjoy more bourbon flavor you could decrease the Aperol and increase the bourbon.
I hope you enjoy this The Paper Plane Aperol bourbon cocktail!
Paper Plane Cocktail Recipe - Aperol, Bourbon, Lemon & Amaro
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce of Aperol
- 3/4 ounce of Nonino Amaro
- 3/4 ounce of lemon juice
- 3/4 ounce of bourbon
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Next, shake until chilled. Then, strain into a coupe glass.
Notes
If you are worried about the food dye in Aperol like I am, you can use the alternate recipe below. I found a great Aperol alternative called Walcher Apertivo Rondo Spritz. But I found it tastes better if you add a bit more into the recipe and a little less lemon juice. The Amaro Nonino does have caramel coloring in it but I haven't found a dye free alternative for that one yet. I will be sure to update this post once I do.
