I first fell in love with the Paper Plane while exploring the wonders of bourbon cocktails in my very early 20s. It felt like a revelation: a way to brighten up bourbon without flattening it, to make it richer, more citrusy, more complex, and, somehow, dangerously easy to drink—a very grown-up “jungle juice,” basically.
The drink itself is a modern classic from NYC-based bartender Sam Ross, who created it for The Violet Hour in Chicago, a city in which I drank many Paper Planes during my 9-year residence there. You can make a perfectly respectable Paper Plane with other amari, but Nonino brings the magic: bright, elegant, gently bitter, citrusy, lifted, and nowhere near as rootsy, earthy, chocolaty, or brooding as many other amari (that I love dearly, but not for this application). I have always had a soft spot for it, and meeting the gracious and dynamic Francesca Nonino at PRIMA last year only deepened my affection.
Although the original recipe calls for Aperol, it can read a touch too sweet and light in a Paper Plane for me. I prefer cocktails with a darker streak: mezcal Last Words, high-rye Boulevardiers, fernets … drinks that look at you from across the room like they know your secrets. So, for this version, I swapped in Bordiga Aperitivo, which gives the drink just a tad more oomph—more red berries, some gentle spice, and a little extra depth without bulldozing the balance.
All of us at PRIMA adore Bordiga, not just because they’re based in Piemonte, which is a very clear PRIMA heartland, but because all their distillates are so beautifully made. Even their basic Vermouth Rosso is incredible on its own (thanks to and RIP Spiaggia Chicago for that intro) or in a spritz or a Manhattan. Their Aperitivo brings that same sense of polish to the Paper Plane.
For the whiskey, Buffalo Trace is the move. It has enough warmth and sweetness to anchor the drink, but it stays light enough on its feet to let the Nonino, Bordiga, and lemon do their thing. I tried it with Sazerac rye, and while it was drinkable, the rye spice and punch knocked the drink completely off course. It started tasting more like a funky whiskey sour than a pretty Paper Plane.
So this is my slightly moodier, PRIMA-fied Paper Plane: rich, bright, perilously quaffable, and far too easy to justify as “just one more.”
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1 oz. each:
Combine all liquids in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled, about 10–15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or single old-fashioned glass, and fly like paper, get high like planes.
