The 7 Best Brandy Substitutes

For many, brandy is a comforting and relaxing alcoholic beverage. For others, it is an ingredient that enhances flavor when cooking or baking. Of course, in your house, brandy can do both, or be completely off-limits.

Whether you don’t use brandy for personal reasons or simply don’t have any available, you may need a suitable substitute for the recipe you want to create.

So what is the best substitute for brandy? The best alcoholic substitute for brandy is whiskey, due to its similar flavor profile and alcohol content. The best non-alcoholic substitute is fruit extract, due to the fruity taste of brandy, with apple, grape, apricot and peach flavors giving the best results.

However, there are many other solutions that may work for you based on availability or personal preference, and we will cover a wide variety that is particularly suitable for cooking, baking, and some specific recipes.

What is brandy?

Brandy is not the most common alcohol to drink, but it is one of the most popular alcohols used in cooking and baking.

Many recipes, from desserts to savory sauces, call for this premium ingredient and sometimes even use it as a signature flavor.

If you don’t use alcohol at home or simply don’t have this particular bottle in your liquor cabinet, many substitutes can be used in a pinch.

What you are cooking or baking should influence your choice of substitute, as subtle differences in flavor can affect the development of a recipe.

Whenever you are substituting an ingredient, you should be very familiar with the various responsibilities of that ingredient in your recipe.

Brandy adds flavor, but it also improves cooking and baking in other ways.

How to cook with brandy

Alcohol in general enhances the aromas and flavors of many recipes, as well as adding its own flavor and fragrance.

In most cases, if alcohol is called for in a recipe, it’s best to try to follow the instructions as closely as possible, especially if it’s a new recipe or you’re not used to cooking with alcohol.

It may take some practice to fully understand how it will affect the recipe.

For example, using alcohol in a meat-based recipe helps the flavors of all the ingredients penetrate the meat. Therefore, using brandy in a marinade will give your meat a better flavor and seasoning.

Using brandy in cooking, rather than any other alcohol, has some added benefits. Brandy is made from fermented fruit, similar to wine, although it is noticeably stronger.

Its flavor profile pairs well with almost all foods including seafood, poultry, pork, vegetables, pasta, and even sauces and soups that combine many different flavor profiles.

Brandy is also one of the most popular alcohols used to flambé foods.

How to bake with brandy

Baking with brandy is more strategic than adding flavor. Just like cooking, using any type of alcohol in baking will intensify and enhance the overall flavor of your ingredients.

Brandy, in particular, adds a wine-tinged sweetness to your pastries, which pairs perfectly with spices like ginger. It can also add depth to a chocolate dessert or frosting.

Perhaps more important than the flavor benefits, the actual addition of alcohol to your baking can improve the moisture and crumbliness of your desserts and cakes.

If this is the main reason you use brandy in your baking, the best substitute will always be another type of alcohol , as non-alcoholic options will not have the same quality needed to create the perfect flaky crust or light pie texture. .

Now that you better understand how and why brandy is used in cooking and baking, it’s time to consider some reliable substitutes.

Whether you prefer a non-alcoholic option or want to use what you have in your liquor cabinet, we have a few great solutions for you to try.

The best non-alcoholic substitutes for brandy

There are many reasons why you may not want to use alcohol in a recipe, and luckily when it comes to flavor there are plenty of reasonable substitutes for you.

Keep in mind that flavor substitutes will not have the texture and consistency advantages of using alcohol in your confectionery, so you may see some differences in the presentation of the final result.

Before questioning your wisdom, it’s also important to note that the conventional wisdom that cooking or baking with alcohol will cause it to completely evaporate is not entirely true in most cases.

A dish would have to cook for a minimum of 3 hours for the alcohol to completely disappear. Just by boiling the liquid of a sauce, for example, up to 75% alcohol can remain.

If you don’t want alcohol in your cooking, even though it may alter the texture, don’t use alcohol.

fruit extract

Brandy is made from fermented fruit, so substituting it with a concentrated fruit extract should provide a great flavor substitute.

You can also choose a fruit extract based on the flavor profile you want to achieve. The closest thing to brandy would be apple, grape, apricot, peach or even cherry.

For every 2 tablespoons of brandy your recipe calls for, use 1 teaspoon of fruit extract.

You can also use fruit juice in the same amount as the recipe calls for brandy.

brandy extract

The brandy extract was designed to give the taste of brandy without the alcohol; however, many extracts contain traces of alcohol, albeit very dilute.

If you avoid alcohol for religious reasons or another strongly non-alcoholic preference, this may not be the solution for you.

For many, it’s considered a non-alcoholic substitution because the amount is smaller and you don’t actually have to have liquor on hand to use it.

The flavor will be the most suitable for any recipe, however, like fruit juice, it will not have the advantages of texture and consistency in confectionery.

To substitute brandy for brandy extract, use 2 teaspoons of extract for every 3 tablespoons of brandy called for in the recipe.

The best alcoholic substitutes for brandy

If you’re fine with using alcohol in your cooking and baking, but simply don’t have brandy or don’t like the taste of it, there are many other alcohols that will work just as well, although they can create a new flavor profile.

Whiskey

In general, whether you cook or bake, whiskey will be a great substitute for brandy.

You may have been expecting wine, which may work, but whiskey is closer in alcohol content which will keep the feel and results more in line with what you would expect from brandy.

Whiskey has a different flavor profile and can taste slightly more alcoholic, but there are many varieties you can work with to get the effect you’re after.

For example, bourbon is a type of whiskey that will add more sweetness to your recipe. Not a true whiskey but often mistaken for one, Scotch will add a smoky depth to your recipe.

If you have a bottle of your favorite whiskey handy, you’re probably already familiar with its taste, so you can choose the type that best suits your recipes.

Wine

Brandy is from the same family as wine, as it is made from fermented fruit. However, brandy is distilled, turning it into a spirit and increasing its alcohol content. However, in terms of taste, wine will be a great substitute to enrich the flavors of your dish.

Red wines tend to have fuller, more complex flavors, compared to white wine, which can be sweeter or more sour, depending on the case. However, white wine is a better choice for cream sauces that you don’t want to discolor.

If you want to use a sweet wine, you may need to balance it with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice to maintain the proper balance.

Geneva

Gin is not a suitable substitute for brandy in all recipes, but it works fantastically well with meat, especially poultry or game.

Its flavor is clean and crisp, woody and herbal, which isn’t quite the same as brandy, but if your goal is to enhance the seasoning of your meat, you can’t go wrong with gin.

It can be used in the same quantities as brandy.

Ron

Rum is one of the sweetest spirits you can buy, so it makes sense that it would be palatable in baked goods and desserts. Even though it’s sweeter than brandy, it will balance the flavors in your pastry instead of becoming too sweet.

If you are concerned about sweetness, you can add water to thin it out, but do so sparingly or you risk altering the texture and consistency of your recipe.

The rum will also add a heavenly aroma that many people use an extract to achieve, even though the recipe doesn’t call for it.

Use amounts of rum equal to those called for in the brandy recipe.

Vodka

If the flavor profile of your pastry is absolutely perfect as-is and you don’t want to alter it, you can use vodka in your recipe to enhance the flavors without adding them.

Additionally, vodka is odorless in your confectionery and colorless, so it won’t affect your recipe in any way, beyond the benefits of improving texture and moisture and bringing out natural flavors.

You can substitute brandy for vodka in equal amounts.

Replacing brandy in the kitchen

If you’re cooking a meal, a small amount of alcohol can go a long way in enhancing the flavor of your dish.

Brandy has rich, concentrated flavors that intensify the flavor of all your ingredients and add deep complexity to meat dishes and sauces, while adding a mouth-watering fragrance to cream-based dishes.

If you don’t have brandy, the best substitutes for cooking salty dishes are wine or gin, unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

Replacing Brandy in Pepper Sauce

Pepper sauce is known for its flavor. Most people don’t even know if this flavor comes from the alcohol or the pepper, but many recipes call for brandy.

In this particular recipe, one of the main reasons alcohol is used is to flambé the sauce, giving it a gorgeous, syrupy shine. The way to substitute the brandy depends on whether you are going to flambé the food or not.

If you don’t plan on setting the food on fire at any point during the serving process, you can substitute fruit juice for the brandy, just to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce.

If you need to balance with an acid, try apple cider vinegar.

If you’re interested in adding some fire to your dish, you’ll need to use some form of alcohol. The whiskey will provide a similar flavor, while the vodka won’t alter the flavor at all, if that’s your preference.

Replacing brandy in coq au vin

Coq au Vin is a decadent, slow-cooked recipe of rooster in wine, hence its name. Most people now use chicken, but vin (or wine) is still a requirement, often enhanced by brandy.

The wine really is the star of the dish, so in this recipe, if you don’t have brandy, you can usually leave it out without much of a difference.

The wine already has alcohol in it which serves to bring out all the flavors, so you don’t need more unless you want a more complex flavor profile.

In that case, use the alcohol that has the flavor that appeals to you the most. Whiskey, bourbon, or gin would be good choices.

Substitute brandy in confectionery

Using brandy in baking not only enhances the flavor of your favorite recipe, but also improves the texture and moisture content of your pastry.

If you don’t have brandy, it’s best to substitute another alcohol with a similar strength to maintain the right balance, which the recipe maker no doubt experimented a lot to perfect.

Replacing brandy in fruit tart

Brandy is very common in desserts and fruitcake often requires this fruit alcohol to make it irresistible.

Fruit juice or extracts are a good substitute in fruit tart as they enhance the fruity flavor profile.

However, fruitcake can be hard to come by in terms of texture and consistency, so using alcohol may be a priority for you. In this case, rum or bourbon will be the best options to use as a substitute.

Substitution of brandy in drinks

Some drink recipes specifically call for brandy, almost always as a signature flavor. This can be more difficult to replace; however, we do have some suggestions and solutions.

Substitute brandy in sangria

Not all sangrías call for brandy and, therefore, do not need it. This will add sweetness, flavor and a great aroma to your sangria, but you can substitute another alcohol well.

Using an orange-flavored liqueur, such as triple sec or Grand Marnier, are popular choices for sangria.

Substitute brandy in mulled wine

Mulled wine is more than just wine and spices. It is also often made with brandy, which has a similar flavor profile to wine but with more alcohol and concentrated flavor.

If you don’t have brandy and your recipe calls for it, try port instead. It has a higher alcohol content than wine, but it is not as high as brandy. It belongs to the same family of flavors, so the flavor will not deviate much.