Best Substitutes for Cloves

Out of Cloves? Here are the best alternatives that work in cocktail recipes.

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Original Ingredient

Cloves

Other Intensely pungent, warm-spicy nose with eugenol heat and numbing depth. Palate is strongly aromatic with sweet-spicy clove warmth and slight bitterness. Long, warming, numbing finish.

Recommended Substitutes

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Cinnamon

Use as a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.

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Allspice

Use as a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.

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Nutmeg

Use as a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.

General Substitution Tips

  • Match the alcohol level: a 40% spirit needs a similarly strong replacement or adjust volume.
  • For liqueurs, dilute spirits + simple syrup can replicate sweetness and proof.
  • Citrus substitutions: lemon and lime are mostly interchangeable at a 1:1 ratio.
  • For bitters, Angostura is the most neutral substitute for most other aromatic bitters.