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Directions:
Cover the cloves with alcohol, some will float, that’s ok.
Let sit for 1-3 weeks in a dark place
Clove extract can be tricky. This is a very strong spice. I only soak mine for 1 week. I have soaked them for 3 before but ended up with a really spicy, bitter extract. Smell test is the best way to figure out if this one is done soaking, in my opinion. If you happen to over soak them, mixing with the vanilla extract does tame the flavor. I have had lots of bitter batches that lost their bitterness once they were diluted with vanilla extract.
After soaking, strain out the cloves and this is clove extract. I prefer mixing at a 40/60 ratio of clove extract to vanilla extract, especially if it is a strong clove extract. I would play around with using different vanilla extracts. For instance, this could be a really nice clove bourbon vanilla extract. The shelf life of this vanilla is around 3 years, but I prefer to use this within the first year for best flavor. If you find any mold or its flavor changes from when you first made it, I would discard it and make a new batch.
How do you use this extract?
I use this extract in things like pies or apple cider. Just as you need to be conservative with ground cloves, you also need to be conservative with this extract.