What's The Best Bourbon Substitute For Cooking?

Cooking with alcohol is a wonderful way to infuse rich flavor into anything from pasta sauce and braised vegetables to cake frosting. Using bourbon, an American whiskey distilled from a grain mash that's at least 51% corn, works particularly well thanks to its rich, slightly sweet notes of caramel, vanilla, and oak, with soft hints of baking spice and candied orange. Bourbon makes for a next-level meat marinade, and amplifies the flavor of brownies. But what happens when you've run out, or don't want to include alcohol in the recipe? Are there alternatives? Yes, but with some caveats.

Cooking with bourbon serves a few purposes. First, there's the flavor component: You can often taste the boozy notes in a barbecue sauce or dessert. Secondly, there's the aromatic element. Because alcohol evaporates faster than water, it carries all the tempting smells to our noses while the food is hot. Finally, alcohol binds with both fat and water, enhancing flavors and allowing spices and citrus to more effectively penetrate meats or vegetables. The tannins in bourbon also interact chemically with fats, pulling them from the pan when deglazing, the same way red wine, paired with beef, pulls fats from the tongue, enhancing the flavor. Using other types of alcohol might mean missing out on bourbon's unique flavors, but there are ways to evoke its essence in your cooking. Also, keep in mind that, while you can use non-alcoholic options, you may not experience all of the chemical benefits. (If fire is needed to finish off something like roast duck flambé, for instance, you'll need a high-proof spirit.)

The easiest and most effective substitution is to replace bourbon with another brown spirit. Any aged spirit — rye, scotch, cognac, or aged rum or tequila — can be substituted 1-to-1 in any recipe, like a bourbon glaze for upgraded salmon. However, in recipes where cooking isn't involved, such as blending bourbon in with mayonnaise or whipped cream, you will absolutely taste the differences between bourbon (especially a wheated bourbon which trends "sweet") and a spicy rye or a grassy, woody tequila. When booze is cooked into meats or sauces, the flavor differences are less apparent. Some substitutions, however, like a peaty, smoky Islay Scotch or a rich, fruity red wine, can actually bring exciting new flavors to your food.

One challenge with using alternative spirits can be cost. Both cognac and aged tequila may cost more than a mid-priced bourbon. If you're deciding between añejo and extra-añejo tequila, for example, not only are there distinctions in the flavor profiles, but extra-añejo tequila can cost significantly more (reflecting the extra time and labor put into aging it). While some recipes suggest using the cheapest aged spirit while cooking, but we recommend cooking with something you know you like drinking. You wouldn't add a flavored salt or spice rub you don't like, why add a low-quality whiskey or rum to the mix?

Pure vanilla extract also works well in place of bourbon (and vice versa) when cooking. Vanilla extract is concentrated, and nearly the same proof as bourbon (the FDA requires a minimum alcohol by volume of 35% or about 70 proof for real vanilla extract), so you don't need as much. Roughly half as much extract as bourbon in a recipe should work.

Vanilla is also a common flavor note in bourbon, meaning the end results will be similar. You can even find bourbon barrel-aged vanilla extract, and extracts with a bourbon base like Nielsen-Massey Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract. Is there also no vanilla extract in the cupboard? Reach for almond or cardamom extracts instead, but consider using them sparingly.

If you want to eschew alcohol altogether, there are plenty of options. When it comes to deglazing a pan, basic water or sparkling mineral water works nicely, but doesn't add flavor. For more nuance, consider chicken or beef stock, or apple cider vinegar. If you're braising vegetables or creating a glaze, you're after the flavor profile and caramelization that comes with alcohol or sugar.

Apple juice can work nicely, thanks to its sweet-acid combination, viscosity, and the fact that green apple notes sometimes manifest in a bourbon. Some cooks like to combine ingredients, such as apple juice, brown sugar, maple, or vanilla to better approximate the flavors of bourbon.

These days there is yet another alternative: Non-alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages (there is a difference) designed to mimic or replace distilled alcoholic spirits. There are several non-alcoholic bourbon or whiskey brands on the shelves, like Philters non-alcoholic Whiski. They don't necessarily "sip" like a neat whiskey: They often don't have the same body or mouthfeel, and don't quite taste like bourbon. But in cocktails and cooking, they do a good job of replicating bourbon. Remember there is no alcohol burning off, so use less of the NA version to reduce down properly. And of course the chemical bonding that happens with regular bourbon doesn't take place.

It may take some time to find the zero-alcohol whiskey that works for you. Whiskeys that are made using reverse distillation or other means of extracting alcohol should taste more like the target spirit than those made from a combination of spices and flavorings. However, the former usually still has a small percentage of alcohol (less than 5%), while the latter will never quite taste like real whiskey in a glass. If you need to substitute for the substitutes, you can also find alcohol-free vanilla flavorings, like the one from Nature Sourced, crafted from Madagascar bourbon vanilla pods.