Name: El Avioncito
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Bourbon whiskey; 22.5 ml Amaro (e.g. Braulio); 22.5 ml Maraschino liqueur; 22.5 ml Lemon juice; 3 drop Saline solution 4:1

El Avioncito
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Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar 1910 Retro Coupette 15cl

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ oz	Bourbon whiskey
³⁄₄ oz	Amaro (e.g. Braulio)
³⁄₄ oz	Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
3 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the 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 bittersweet, maraschino-influenced riff on Sam Ross' Paper Plane.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in August 2025 by Joseph "Joe" Brophy at Le Verre à Monique in Geneva, Switzerland.

I created this cocktail from a moment of inadvertence. A good customer and now friend, Roberto, asked if I could make a paper plane. The only ingredient I could recall from the paper plane was the Aperol and quickly checked on Difford's Guide whether I had the remaining ingredients. I offered to make it with Braulio instead of Amaro Nonino and he agreed. I then double checked the recipe on Difford's Guide and saw 'Luxardo' (referring to the Luxardo Aperitivo), and I immediately reached for the maraschino, poured it in the shaker with the remaining three ingredients and made the cocktail. I was never a big fan of the Paper Plane, so I was surprised that I liked this version so much. Roberto came back the following week and asked for the same drink. I then realised my mistake, however, we both liked this version so much we decided to name it. We called it El Avioncito as an homage to Roberto's Chilean roots and the fact that he lets me practice my Spanish with him every time.
Joseph Brophy , 2025

Nutrition:

One serving of El Avioncito contains 152 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
18% alc./vol. (18° proof)
16.2 grams of pure alcohol

More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) 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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Showing 5 comments for El Avioncito.
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Tad Galloway

27th September at 13:16

I had seen this on Difford’s a few weeks ago while looking at things to use Luxardo in, and I starred it. We had a cocktail night with some good friends last night with the guy who had introduced us to the Paper Plane a couple of years ago. I had told him about it and he said “let’s do it!” I made it with Four Roses Single Barrel and Nonino. We all really enjoyed it!!

Robert Mendelev

20th September at 21:30

Quite an experience we had with joe , discovering this variant! Today i spent some time at Verre à Monique with joe and had the pleasure of sipping this refreshing cocktail.

Douglas Systrom

15th September at 11:18

I used High West Bourbon, Luxardo Maraschino, and Montenegro Amaro. While I did enjoy the drink, I'd tinker a bit with it trying a few other Amaro's or maybe just cutting back the maraschino a bit.

Chris Brislawn

14th September at 02:56

An excellent Paper Plane variant. I upped the base liquor (bourbon) to 1 oz to tame the sweetness, which I do for pretty much all Last Word/variant cocktails, and used Cheritelli rather than Luxardo maraschino for its more pronounced maraschino flavor, which stands up to the bourbon and amaro. No Braulio, though, and lacking Difford's vast library of 60+ amari I considered Lucano because it's next to Braulio on Difford's amari page, but then remembered I had a new bottle of Meletti I'd been meaning to try, so went with that instead. Good choice. Its flavors work well with the bourbon and maraschino, and Meletti is light enough that it doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients in this drink as a darker, heavier amaro might (see comments of R. Spain below).

Robert Spain

12th September at 21:38

Very good, but Braulio masks bourbon and maraschino. So, imho, it's tasty but not really balanced. In any case, I will probably repeat.

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