Best Substitutes for Lemon Juice

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

🍶

Original Ingredient

Lemon Juice

Other Sharply tart citrus nose with bright acidity and fresh lemon oil. Palate is bracingly sour with lip-puckering tartness and clean citrus character. Crisp, invigorating finish with zesty brightness.

Recommended Substitutes

🔄

Fresh Lemon Juice

Use as a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.

🔄

Lime juice

Use as a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted.

🔄

Fresh Lime Juice

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.