Gin + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 26 recipes, and they share 47 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Do gin and clove go together?
Yes. 26 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 47 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 24% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything gin carries, clove has too: 47 of gin's 56 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
gin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 20% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 9 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for gin. It carries 264 molecules gin doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 27% of pairs with gin, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 31% of pairs with gin, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 20% of pairs with gin, top 1% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 26% of pairs with gin, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with gin and clove
Almost always baking: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are baking.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of gin's flavor molecules (47 of 56) are also found in clove, but clove has 264 that gin lacks. Gin gives you part of clove's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 47 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 9 only in gin and the 264 only in clove.
Gin and clove questions
Do gin and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 26 recipes, and they share 47 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do gin and clove taste good together?
Almost everything gin carries, clove has too: 47 of gin's 56 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with gin and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 27% of pairs with gin and top 1% with clove. Allspice and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with gin and clove?
Almost always baking: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are baking. Common dishes include Tomato Ketchup.
Can I use clove instead of gin?
Only partly. Most of gin's flavor molecules (47 of 56) are also found in clove, but clove has 264 that gin lacks. Gin gives you part of clove's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Gin vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/gin-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_gin_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Gin vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/gin-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.