Sam Ross's (of Little Branch, NYC) Paper Plane serves as a template for a fertile class of delightful bitter cocktails. With equal parts spirit, bright amaro, dark amaro, and sour, it's also perfect for the Mixology Monday monthly [-ish] on-line cocktail lovefest. September, 2012 marks the re-launch of MxMo, hosted by Fred Yarm of the highly-recommended Cocktail Virgin Slut blog. The theme? Equal Parts. Convenient, no?

Avioncito means "little airplane" — or paper airplane — in Spanish. With tequila for bourbon, Cynar for Aperol, Zucca for Amaro Nonino, and lime juice for lemon, the little plane shares no ingredients with its ancestor. Tequila and somewhat darker flavors shift the balance from summer to fall, so start sipping now.

I've also made this with Campari for Cynar, with equally good results. I retained the Cynar because its earthy flavors complement the reposado Tequila ... and also to distance the drink from the wonderful-on-its-own inspiration.

Zucca is a rabarbaro -- an amaro made from rhubarb, and in this case, the roots of Chinese rhubarb. It's a bit harder to find that Campari and Cynar, but its woodsy character is unmistakable in the cocktail. If unavailable, substitute another brown amaro, such as Ramazzotti, Averna, or (even better) Lucano. Different, but also great.

Finallt got around to trying this. Really good. I'm not a huge tequila fan but this one is a keeper. I did end up bumping the tequila to 1.5 oz to cut the sweetness from the amari

I liked it - used Milagro Reposado and Averna instead of the Zucca - but didn't taste the tequila as much. Maybe the MIlagro isn't as assertive as the Espolon (I'm not a tequila guy, so not sure)?

Good. I had Cynar 70 so dropped it to 30. Zucca and lime dominate intensely upfront and then evolves with more agave and cynar at the end of the taste. Not unpleasant but suspect may be better balanced if I drop the zucca a bit and up the tequila.

When Misty Kalkofen made this for me in September 2012, she told me that she wanted to teach the returning students how to drink. My blog post describes, "how she named it after a Cape Cod rum runner who died from a shotgun blast in 1932. The Lowell Sun wrote, 'State police laid the slaying at the door of rum runners they believed had been using the garage as a storage place for liquor-laden trucks. The structure stands about 100 yards from the main highway in a rather isolated section a mile west of Hyannis.'" Yup, this one hits you like a shotgun blast to the head, but a tasty way to go.

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2012/09/franklin-bearse.html

I used germain-robin brandy and la gitana manzanilla sherry, and assumed the chartreuse was green. The sherry doesn't get lost, which I appreciate. It's like a lighter, fresher last word- definitely recommended!

This is just such a beautiful use of manzanilla in a modern cocktail. For lack of celery bitters, I used Ango, with good results. Might try something different next time. Delicious. 

This really is a nice combination of Manzanilla sherry and Green Chartreuse--without the Chartreuse overpowering the rest as can so easily happen. The proportions are spot on and every element can be tasted and contributes here (including the pinch of salt.) I rate it a 4.5/5 as a semi-dry cocktail.

I didn't expect to love this cocktail as much as I do, since I'm not always a fan of genever (I have the bols barrel-aged). Now, I think I'll keep it around just so I can make this. All of the ingredients merge well and I like the balance, though the maraschino might be a bit dominant for some. The cardamom adds a lot of flavor, so don't skip the garnish. My apple brandy is clear creek.

This is more of a dessert cocktail, but it is spicy, herbal, and minty and I like it. I can't really taste the batavia arrack behind the liqueurs; the branca menta and nux alpina dominate but I like them both and think they work quite well together.

I subbed my own homemade nocino for the Nux Alpina and am experiencing something very much like the way the rubber soles of new sneakers smell.

There's a lot of strong flavors in this drink. I feel like the Batavia Arrack is present, but it's understated.