Paper Airplane

PAPER AIRPLANE

• ¾ oz. / 22.5 ml. bourbon

• ¾ oz. / 22.5 ml. Amaro Nonino

• ¾ oz. / 22.5 ml. Campari

• ¾ oz. / 22.5 ml. fresh lemon juice

• 1 barspoon simple syrup (optional)

METHOD
add all ingredients to shaker tin / shake with ice until chilled / fine strain into coupe or Nick and Nora / garnish with paper plane (optional)

ABOUT
A few days before the version most people know as the Paper Plane, the Paper Airplane showed up on the menu at The Violet Hour (@violethourchicago) in Chicago.

Toby Maloney (@tobycocktail) had just opened the bar and asked Sam Ross (@samueljoelross) to come up with a drink for their summer menu. Ross had been experimenting with Amaro Nonino in New York and eventually landed on bourbon as the base after testing it at Milk & Honey. He called Maloney at 3am and left a voicemail with the specs, naming it after the M.I.A. song.

The original version used Campari, which made it drier and more bitter. Bartenders were even adding simple syrup to help round it out. A few days later, Ross realized Aperol made for a better version and called to update him. By then, the menus were printed, and Maloney had misheard the name. So the Paper Airplane, with Campari, briefly existed before the Paper Plane we know now took its place. Cheers y’all!

Source: Sam Ross on Ep. 152 @BartenderAtLarge podcast with Erick Castro (@hungrybartender)