Sam Ross created the Paper Plane in 2008 at Milk & Honey alongside Sasha Petraske, named after the M.I.A. song that was inescapable that year. The drink is a study in restraint: four ingredients, identical 3/4 ounce pours, no garnish. True equal parts make it the easiest modern classic to batch — three of the four components are shelf-stable forever; only the lemon juice ages the bottle. Substitute Lemon Super Juice and the batched version lasts three weeks instead of two days.
We were trying to make a cocktail that would taste exactly like the Last Word but with brown booze.
— Sam Ross, on the genesis of the Paper PlaneWhy this drink batches well
The Paper Plane's equal-parts ratio means the bottle scales linearly with no math: same weight of bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice. Pre-batched, the four components integrate and round out over a few hours — the bottle on day three tastes marginally better than the bottle on day zero, before the lemon starts to fade.
Lemon: the shelf-life choice
Fresh lemon juice limits the bottle to 48 hours refrigerated, the same constraint that applies to the Margarita pitcher. For a longer-lasting bottle, substitute Lemon Super Juice (see /ingredients/lemon-super-juice/) — Dave Arnold's acid-corrected citrus stretch keeps the bottle drinkable for two to three weeks at minor cost to brightness. For a Saturday night event prepped on Friday morning, fresh lemon is fine. For a service bottle that holds across a week, Super Juice is the move.
Amaro Nonino is non-negotiable
The Paper Plane works because Amaro Nonino's bitter-orange and rhubarb profile sits between the Aperol and the bourbon — it's the bridge ingredient. Other amari (Averna, Montenegro, even Cynar) will produce a drink, but not this drink. Don't substitute unless you're explicitly making a Paper Plane variation.
Service
Shake 3 oz of the bottle hard with ice for 12 seconds, double-strain into a chilled coupe. The shake is essential — the four equal components need aeration to integrate at the mouth. No garnish is the canonical choice; a thin lemon wheel works if you want the visual.