Garnishes

Cloves

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. Most of their taste comes from eugenol, so a few go a long way: our hot batches use four to six whole buds for a pot, and one bitten by accident leaves the tongue briefly numb. Ground clove is the same spice, measured by the pinch.

Quick Facts

Legal categoryFood

OriginMaluku Islands, Indonesia

Flavour Strengthvery bold

Our keeping timeWhole: two to three years airtight. Ground: about a year once opened.

Storage

Airtight, dark and dry: whole buds hold their oil far longer than the powder.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Cloves

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CloveWarm spiceNumbing sweetness

Tasting Notes

Eugenol at full strength: sweet, hot and faintly numbing, the loudest voice in the mulling-spice choir.

Eugenol makes a few buds go a long way

Cloves owe most of their taste to eugenol, the main compound in clove oil. That oil has long been a traditional remedy for toothache, and there is evidence it eases dental pain, which is also why a whole bud bitten in a mulled wine leaves the tongue numb for a while. A spice that strong is counted, never spooned.

Our batches use four to six

Six whole cloves season the Mulled Wine, about a litre from a bottle of red with brandy, orange juice and honey, and Hot Spiced Cider takes six for 1.2 litres of apple juice. The Spiced Rum Punch, nearer two litres, stops at four. Lift them out before serving: a stray bud in the ladle ends up in somebody's cup.

The Pisco Punch is the single-drink exception: three cloves mashed gently into the syrup in the shaker before the pisco, pineapple and lemon go in, then strained out with the ice.

Whole and ground clove

Whole buds, loose

Used for: Infusing a hot pot, then lifted out
How many: Four to six for a pot
Keeps: Two to three years, airtight
In our recipes: Mulled Wine, Hot Spiced Cider, Spiced Rum Punch

Whole buds in an orange

Used for: Infusing a hot bowl, all lifted out together
How many: Six in one orange
Keeps: Two to three years, airtight
In our recipes: Wassail

Whole buds, mashed

Used for: Flavouring the syrup of one shaken drink
How many: Three
Keeps: Two to three years, airtight
In our recipes: Pisco Punch

Ground

Used for: Butter batters that are not strained
How many: A pinch
Keeps: About a year once opened
In our recipes: Hot Buttered Rum

Form	Used for	How many	Keeps	In our recipes
Whole buds, loose	Infusing a hot pot, then lifted out	Four to six for a pot	Two to three years, airtight	Mulled Wine, Hot Spiced Cider, Spiced Rum Punch
Whole buds in an orange	Infusing a hot bowl, all lifted out together	Six in one orange	Two to three years, airtight	Wassail
Whole buds, mashed	Flavouring the syrup of one shaken drink	Three	Two to three years, airtight	Pisco Punch
Ground	Butter batters that are not strained	A pinch	About a year once opened	Hot Buttered Rum

Ground clove stays in whatever it touches

Grinding exposes the oil, so the powder fades within about a year, and once it is in a liquid it cannot be strained back out. Our recipes use it once: a pinch worked into the batter for a Hot Buttered Rum, alongside the cinnamon and allspice, where nothing is strained. A quarter teaspoon is too much for one mug.

Studding the orange keeps the buds together

The Wassail presses its six cloves into a whole orange before the pan. The peel and the buds scent the cider together, and at the end one lift takes every clove out. Push each bud in point first; on a thick-skinned orange, a skewer opens the hole.

Using it

Using Cloves

Usage

Whole: six each in the Hot Spiced Cider and Mulled Wine pans, six pressed into the Wassail's orange, and four in the larger Spiced Rum Punch; the Pisco Punch, a single drink, takes three mashed into its syrup. Ground: a pinch, beaten with the butter and sugar for a Hot Buttered Rum.

Pro Tip

Press a fingernail into a bud first. A fresh clove gives a little oil and a sharp smell; a dry one that smells of little has lost its eugenol, and more buds will not bring it back.

Top Tips

Count them in and count them out. A chewed clove numbs the mouth and spoils the cup.
Stud the orange rather than the pot. Pressed into the peel, the buds stay together and lift out at once.
Use whole buds for anything strained. Ground clove disperses and cannot be fished back out.
Grind a few buds as needed rather than keeping a jar of powder that fades within the year.

Possible Substitutions

Ground Allspice: Rounder and milder, with a clove note of its own; a pinch for a pinch in a batter

Production Method

The unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen native to Indonesia's Maluku Islands, picked before they open and dried to the familiar dark nail shape. Eugenol carries most of the aroma.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What are cloves?

The dried, unopened flower buds of an evergreen native to the Maluku Islands, in Indonesia. Eugenol supplies most of their aroma and the numbing quality, and so little is needed that recipes count cloves one by one rather than measuring them with a spoon. They come whole, like small nails, or ground.

How many cloves go in mulled wine?

Our Mulled Wine uses six for its pan of red wine, brandy, juice and honey, and Hot Spiced Cider the same six for 1.2 litres of apple juice. Past that, clove becomes the only flavour. Take them out before serving.

Should I use whole or ground cloves?

Whole for anything infused, because ground clove disperses through the liquid and cannot be removed. Whole buds also keep their oil far longer, since the eugenol stays sealed inside. Ground clove has its place where the spice needs to be even and stay in, as in a butter batter.

Why do cloves numb your mouth?

Because of eugenol, the compound behind the aroma. Clove oil has a long history in traditional medicine as a remedy for toothache, and there is evidence that it eases dental pain. In a drink the effect only shows when a whole bud is bitten, which is the reason to lift the buds out before serving.

How much ground clove should I use in a drink?

A pinch, then taste. Ground clove reads strongly through butter, sugar and rum, and it turns medicinal quickly; for a single Hot Buttered Rum, one pinch is enough. Measure it against the whole batch rather than one glass, because it cannot be taken back out.

Is ground clove the same as mixed spice?

No. Mixed spice combines several spices, usually clove among them with cinnamon and nutmeg. Ground clove is the single spice on its own, which is why it is so much stronger and is measured by the pinch rather than the spoon. The two do not swap at the same quantity.

Can I use allspice instead of cloves?

In a batter, yes, at about the same pinch. Allspice berries carry eugenol too, so they share clove's warmth, but they bring cinnamon and nutmeg notes with it and taste rounder. In a hot pot, a few whole allspice berries can stand in for whole cloves, giving a softer result.

How long do cloves keep?

Whole buds hold their oil for two or three years, airtight, dark and cool, because it stays sealed inside. Ground clove fades much faster, inside a year once opened. If a jar of ground clove smells faint, it will add little to a drink.

Make something

Made with Cloves

Featured In These Cocktails

Mulled Wine Wassail Hot Spiced Cider Pisco Punch Hot Buttered Rum Spiced Rum Punch

Show all 7 cocktails

Hot Toddy

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026

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