Name: Cardboard Plane
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Bourbon whiskey; 22.5 ml Triple sec; 15 ml Meletti amaro; 22.5 ml Lemon juice; 15 ml Pink grapefruit juice; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Cardboard Plane
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Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 oz	Bourbon whiskey
³⁄₄ oz	Cointreau triple sec liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Amaro (e.g. Meletti)
³⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₂ oz	Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
2 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
Prepare garnish of grapefruit zest twist.

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass.

Garnish:

EXPRESS grapefruit zest twist over cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A bittered orange and grapefruit riff on the contemporary classic Paper Plane.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created at the Lion's Share in San Diego, California, and brought to our attention, in April 2025, courtesy of fellow Discerning Drinker, Sterling Diesel, by way of a comment on our Paper Plane page.

Nutrition:

One serving of Cardboard Plane contains 172 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
19.11% alc./vol. (19.11° proof)
20.1 grams of pure alcohol

More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) cocktails
More Citrusy cocktails
More Sours (citrus) cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Marie-Therese Straus

19th June at 05:33

This was outstanding. We were looking for a lighter, more refreshing whiskey cocktail to beat the heat here in California and this was it. We did not have Meletti on hand but used Averna instead. This is just a beautiful balance of varied citrus flavours and richer notes from the bourbon and amaro. One of the best sour variations I've had in recent years; we'll be adding this to our permanent repertoire.

Scott Regenbogen

2nd June at 21:26

Made this with Averna and it was very nicely balanced. Enough bitterness from the grapefruit, and rich texture from the Amaro. Came out great.

Marie-Therese Straus

19th June at 05:34

We also used Averna and thought this was an outstanding cocktail. Juicy and bright but quite complex. A new favourite for us.

Simon Sedgley

31st May at 11:38

A beautifully balanced and complex sour. I wonder why our good host could go no higher than four stars.

Simon Sedgley

31st May at 11:56

Maybe it's just us but Meletti has the vaguest of vague hint of salted anchovy...one reason why we love it.

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