Becherovka substitute

Best substitute

Averna or another dark amaro with a pinch of cinnamon

Use the same amount with ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon per 2 oz as the becherovka you are replacing

Best for Beton style long drinks

Different taste

Amari share Becherovka's essential structure: sweet, herbal, bitter from gentian or similar roots, and syrupy in the mouth.

Other becherovka substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Allspice dram with simple syrup
Close match
2 parts allspice dram to 1 part simple syrup, then use 1:1
Pimento dram is a rum-based allspice liqueur and it is the closest thing on a normal back bar to Becherovka's warm-spice character.
What changes
Best for
cocktails, punches, mulled drinks, spiced glazes, baking
The spice match is very good, leaning clove and allspice rather than cinnamon, and the rum base adds a molasses note Becherovka does not have. What is entirely missing is the gentian bitterness, so add two dashes of Angostura per ounce if you want the bitter finish back.
3Jagermeister
Different taste
Use the same amount
The same category of sweet herbal bitter liqueur, with a comparable sugar level and a comparable bitterness.
What changes
Best for
Beton style long drinks with tonic, shots, punches, glazes
Much darker in the glass, near black rather than gold, and the herbs lead with anise, licorice and menthol instead of cinnamon and clove. In a Beton, where tonic and lemon dominate, it works well. In a pale winter punch it will look muddy.
4Benedictine with a dash of bitters
Different taste
Use the same amount plus 2 dashes Angostura per oz
A French honeyed herbal liqueur with a similar golden colour and a gentler version of the same many-botanical complexity.
What changes
Best for
cocktails, sipping, mulled drinks, glazes, sauces
Sweeter, honeyed and considerably milder, with saffron and citrus rather than cinnamon and clove, and with almost no bitterness of its own. The bitters supply the missing edge. It is the best match on colour, which matters in a clear tall drink.
5Cinnamon syrup with vodka and bitters
Close match
1 tbsp cinnamon syrup plus 1 tbsp vodka plus 2 dashes bitters replaces 2 tbsp Becherovka
A rebuild from parts and the most accurate flavour match you can assemble at home.
What changes
Make cinnamon syrup by simmering a broken cinnamon stick in equal sugar and water for ten minutes.
Best for
cocktails, Beton, baking, glazes, mulled drinks
Add a single clove to the syrup while it simmers and it gets noticeably closer. It will be paler and slightly less complex than the bottle, since Becherovka carries a couple of dozen botanicals, but the cinnamon-clove-bitter frame is unmistakable.
6Strong cinnamon and clove tea with honey (non-alcoholic)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Steep a broken cinnamon stick and two cloves in hot water for ten minutes, sweeten with honey, then add a squeeze of lemon.
What changes
Best for
alcohol-free long drinks, mulled non-alcoholic punch, baking, glazes
The spice is right and honey covers the sweetness and some of the body. The gentian bitterness is missing, but if you are making a Beton the tonic water supplies bitterness of its own from quinine, which makes this a better alcohol-free swap than it sounds. It will not have the warming alcoholic finish.

What is Becherovka?

Becherovka is a golden Czech herbal bitter liqueur from Karlovy Vary, sweet and warmly spiced with cinnamon, clove and gentian root so that it tastes a little like liquid gingerbread with a bitter finish, and its job in a drink is to bring that bittersweet spice, a syrupy body and a good deal of sugar all in one pour.

Cooking tips

The classic Czech way to drink it is a Beton: Becherovka topped with tonic water and finished with a lemon wedge. That is a useful clue for substitutes, because tonic's quinine bitterness props up any swap that is short on bitterness of its own.
It is around 38 per cent alcohol and quite sweet, so it reduces to a sticky glaze quickly. For a glazed ham or roast pork, add it in the last ten minutes and watch it, because the sugar catches easily under a hot grill.
A spoonful transforms mulled wine, since the cinnamon and clove are already in the direction mulled wine goes. Add it at the end, off the heat, so the aromatics survive.
Serve it cold, straight from the fridge or the freezer, which is how it is drunk in Karlovy Vary. Cold flattens both the sweetness and the bitterness, and a substitute judged at room temperature will taste much sweeter and less balanced than the same substitute served properly chilled.
In baking it belongs anywhere cinnamon already appears: a Czech honey cake, a gingerbread glaze, an apple strudel. Use it in place of some of the recipe's liquid rather than adding it on top, and cut a little sugar since it is sweet.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave Becherovka out?

In a glaze or a baked dessert, yes. Replace it with the same volume of water or apple juice plus a good pinch of cinnamon and a small pinch of clove, and the dish will be close. In a Beton or another two-ingredient drink there is nothing left without it, so use a substitute. In mulled wine it is optional and the drink is already spiced.

Is Becherovka a bitters or a liqueur?

Both descriptions get used, which causes confusion. It is a sweetened herbal liqueur at around 38 per cent alcohol, meant to be drunk in shot or long-drink quantities, not a concentrated cocktail bitters used a few dashes at a time. If a recipe calls for an ounce of Becherovka, do not substitute an ounce of Angostura bitters; that would be overwhelming.

What is the difference between Becherovka and Jagermeister?

They sit in the same family of sweet herbal bitter liqueurs and have similar sweetness and strength. Becherovka is gold, cleaner and led by cinnamon, clove and gentian, tasting like spiced gingerbread. Jagermeister is nearly black and led by anise, licorice and a cooling menthol note. They substitute for each other at 1:1 as long as the colour does not matter.

Can I use it in cooking, not just drinks?

Yes, and it is underrated for it. It works in glazes for pork and ham, in red cabbage, in mulled wine and in spiced cakes, because cinnamon and clove suit all of those. Keep the quantity modest, around two tablespoons for a family-sized glaze, and add it near the end so the bitterness does not concentrate as the liquid reduces.

What is the best alcohol-free substitute?

Strong cinnamon and clove tea sweetened with honey and sharpened with lemon. For a Beton, pour that over ice and top with tonic water; the tonic contributes the bitterness that makes the drink work, so the result is genuinely close in character. For baking, just use ground cinnamon and a pinch of clove in the recipe's existing liquid.

Related substitutes

More liquor substitutes

Becherovka substitute

Other becherovka substitutes

2Allspice dram with simple syrup

3Jagermeister

4Benedictine with a dash of bitters

5Cinnamon syrup with vodka and bitters

6Strong cinnamon and clove tea with honey (non-alcoholic)