Paper Aeroplane – Rinomato Aperitivo

The Paper Airplane already is a modern classic cocktail . So, when I got my hands on a new Italian Aperitivo, I wanted to come up with a variation. The Rinomato L’Aperitivo Decisio was clearly created to be used in Spritzes, however it also makes a great ingredient for Sam Ross’s drink.

While Mancino’s Rinamto old bitter was positioned a bit in between Aperol and Campari, the range just got a work-over. The new Rinomato L’Aperitivo Decisio now is more clearly positioned as an apéritif. Furthermore, Mancino uses cinchona bark, gentian root, orange peel, vanilla and wormwood in the liqueur. In the end, the aperitif is bottled at 14 % ABV.

Bitter oranges and gentian root

The Aperitivo starts with a lot of bitter orange notes, reminding be of Crodino and Chinoto lemonades. Furthermore, it has a mild bitterness with notes of gentian, galangal and wormwood. All in all, it is well-balanced with a great combination of orange and herbal notes.

A blend of bitter notes

Actually, I never made the original Paper Airplane. I just did not have the Nonino Amaro in my home bar. However, I have plenty of other Amaros. So, I decided to replace the Nonino with a blend of three other Amaros. I chose two parts Cappelletti Amaro Trentino, two parts Vecchio Amaro Del Capo and one part Nardini Elixir d China. On top of that, I ran out of lemons, so I used lime instead.

The drink starts off with your familiar Whiskey Sour notes. Yet, after a while the Amaros take over the flavour and turn the drink into a darker direction. Apart from that, the Aperitivio adds some bitter oranges notes to the “Paper Aeroplane”. All in all, the drink is well-balanced with great herbal and fruit flavours.

A fruity, balanced bitter

The other new product from Rinomato is a Bitter. It now seeks to replace the famous, bright red bitter liqueur from Milan. Therefore, it has a higher ABV than the Aperitivo, 23 % ABV. Apart from that, you supposedly can find notes of bergamot, bitter oranges, black tea dandelion, hibiscus, mandarin and raspberry in it. In my opinion, the Rinomato Bitter Scuro makes for a more fruity and balanced bitter. You can discover typical gentian and wormwood notes in the taste. On top of that, I found notes of pink grapefruit and curry leaves. All in all, the Rinomato is a nice bitter, especially taking into account the price.

Anise-forward Negroni

Well, for a drink using the Rinomato Bitter Scuro I took inspiration by the Strawberry Szechuan Negroni from Levent Yilmaz. However, since I did not have Raki on hand I cold-drip infused ouzo with Szechuan peppercorns. Furthermore, I also added a bit of liquorice liqueur from Heiko Hoos. To top everything up, I replaced the sweet vermouth with Tawny port wine for a darker, more grape forward flavour. While the anise flavour was powerful in this one. However, the drink still tastes quite intriguing, with hints of bitterness and wine flavours.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The liqueurs were provided by Perola.