Cardboard Plane

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (11 ratings)

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 oz Bourbon whiskey
34 oz Cointreau triple sec liqueur
12 oz Amaro (e.g. Meletti)
34 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
12 oz Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
2 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of grapefruit zest twist.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  5. EXPRESS grapefruit zest twist over cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10

Review:

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

View readers' comments

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

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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Scott  Regenbogen’s Avatar 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.
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar 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’s Avatar 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.