Easy Spiced Hot Apple Cider Recipe

Spiced hot apple cider is one of my absolute favorite drinks during the holiday season! Sweet apple cider infused with warming spices and lots of cinnamon is the perfect pick me up when the weather turns cool.

And add just a little rum or bourbon for a spiked apple cider that’ll warm you up even more!

Why this hot apple cider is a favorite for me

• This is the perfect soul-warming cold weather beverage (besides a thick French hot chocolate).
• While spiced apple cider is delicious as is, you can make it even more warming and adult-friendly by adding a little rum. This spiked version is a favorite Fall treat for me, and I enjoy drinking the non-alcoholic version pretty much every day this time of year.
• So easy to make and super delicious.
• You can make this for a crowd. Use a slow cooker or a large pot to make large batches.
• Super versatile and adaptable spiced apple cider recipe. I share details on how to add more flavor, how and why to adjust and change spices to suit your taste.
• Plus, you can easily make this ahead of time too.

What’s in a name?

Hard cider vs cider

Hard cider is alcoholic and carbonated, as it’s a type of brewed fermented apple (or pear) drink, while cider is non-alcoholic. It wasn’t until I moved to the US that I realized there was hard cider and regular cider.

Because outside of North America, cider is generally alcoholic “hard” cider, and what’s called cider in the US and Canada is just apple juice in most other places. The first time I had cider in the US, I was sorely disappointed that it wasn’t the fermented, bubbly, sweet cider drink I was familiar with!

Apple cider vs apple juice

This recipe is made with apple cider. I grew up calling apple cider “unfiltered apple juice” because it’s cloudy. This is because of the very small sediment from apples still present in the juice.

This freshly pressed apple juice is (usually) pasteurized or treated before being sold in stores, but there are places that sell “raw” untreated cider. I prefer pasteurized apple cider because of the risk of food borne pathogens otherwise.

Apple cider that we make at home (with a slow juicer) is consumed within days, so we don’t always pasteurize it, but this can also be pasteurized too if you like.

Apple juice is clearer because it has been clarified to remove the sediment. This is what I call “filtered apple juice”.

Mulled cider

What I’m making here is hot mulled cider! When a drink is “mulled”, it means that is has been gently heated, with added warm spices and flavors to infuse the drink. It’s also usually served warm as hot cider.

Whether you call it hot spiced apple cider or spiced mulled apple cider, or even spiked apple cider, these beverages are heated with mulling spices (spices that add warmth and heat).

Ingredients for hot apple cider

• Apple cider
• Orange – peel and flesh
• Lemon peel
• Mulling spices
• Maple syrup (or any sweetener)
• Rum

Ingredient notes

Apple cider – Preferably pasteurized. I use sweet apple cider that is made with sweet apples, so it’s naturally a little sweeter.

Orange – The peel and flesh are used. While you can add an entire (or half) of an orange on its own, I remove the peel and add it separately, and then remove the pith (the white stuff), and just add the orange WITHOUT the pith. The pith can add bitterness to the cider. To add more flavor AND color, you can also use blood orange if they are in season.

Lemon peel – Optional, but adds a lovely citrusy flavor.

Mulling spices (whole spices, and not ground, unless specified)

• Cinnamon – Non-negotiable (unless you’re allergic to cinnamon!). I use Ceylon cinnamon sticks that have a sweeter, more floral flavor.
• Whole cloves
• All spice
• Nutmeg – I use a piece of nutmeg, but you can also use ground if that’s easier.
• Cardamom – Optional, but I love the flavor it adds.
• Star anise – Optional. I don’t always like the flavor of star anise, so I don’t add it here. But if you like licorice, then star anise would be perfect in your cider!
• Peppercorns – Optional. I wanted to add a little heat to the drink as well, and peppercorns are perfect for this! I use both black pepper and pink peppercorn, but black peppercorn is more than enough. If you’re sensitive to spicy heat, then leave it out.
• Ginger – Optional, but recommended. Another spice that adds a little spicy heat that I personally adore!

Maple syrup – For sweetening. I do like my apple cider a little sweet, so just a touch of maple syrup can help. But, you can leave it out if you don’t want added sugar. I prefer using maple syrup over brown sugar, but brown sugar can be used as well. I add the sweetener right at the end, so I can decide whether I want to sweeten the mulled cider or not.

Rum, bourbon or any whiskey – To make spiked apple cider. This is also optional. I do prefer gold rum, and bourbon whiskey is a close second. You can also add Canadian whiskey, Irish whiskey, or any whiskey you like! Don’t use the expensive stuff though – those deserve to be enjoyed neat or on the rocks!

How to make spiced apple cider

Step one – Choose your mulling spices and other flavors

Choose what spices you like best and what you have at hand.

I use,

• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• All spice
• Nutmeg
• Cardamom
• Peppercorns
• Ginger
• Orange zest
• Lemon zest

To find out what flavor each of these spices add to your hot spiced cider, check out the section on “how to choose your mulling spices” below to decide which ones you want to use.

In addition to these spices and flavors, I also add orange (without the pith) and blood orange because it’s currently in season and I love blood oranges. Check out my “variations” section below to see what other flavors you can add to your own version.

These spices can be placed in a spice ball or cheese cloth pouch so that it’s easy to remove later (images 1 – 3). Or you can just add all the spices and strain them out at the end.

Step two – Heat the cider

Add the fresh apple cider along with the cinnamon sticks, other mulling spices, citrus peels, and orange segments into a medium-sized pot (image 4). Heat over medium high heat, and heat while stirring to warm up the apple cider.

As soon as the apple cider starts to boil, lower the heat so that the cider is barely simmering. Cover the pot (image 5) and let it barely simmer for about 20 minutes minimum, or up to 40 minutes (but make sure the cider is not evaporating too much).

Slow cooker instructions

Place the same ingredients in your slow cooker or crockpot. Cover and set the heat setting to low. Let it cook for about 2 hours.

Step three – Strain the cider and add sweetener

Once the apple cider has simmered for a while, it should have all the spice flavors infused into it (image 6).

Let it cool slightly, so that it’s not too hot to drink. I also like to leave the spices in during this time to infuse more flavor (image 7), but you can also remove the spices too.

Use a strainer to remove all the spices while it’s still very warm (image 8). You don’t have to squeeze the softened orange segments, as this will add more orange / citrus flavor.

At this stage, you can add the sweetener. I add maple syrup (image 9), and only need to add about 2 – 3 tbsp per 4 cups, for my desired sweetness. Taste and adjust to your taste. Pour the cider into a jug and serve immediately (image 10).

Step four – Prepare the toppings and garnishes

While the cider is cooling, get the toppings and garnishes ready (image 11). This is an optional step, but I personally love adding the garnishes, because I can eat them afterwards.

Here are my favorite garnishing ideas and topping options.

• Cinnamon sticks (as stirring sticks)
• Apple slices
• Orange slices
• Whipped cream (especially my cinnamon brown sugar whipped cream that pairs perfectly with this spiced apple cider)
• Caramel sauce (on top of the whipped cream)
• Raspberries (these add color too!)

Optional – Make spiked mulled apple cider

Yes, of course I added rum to my apple cider here! But I also enjoy drinking spiced apple cider without alcohol often too.

For 1 liter / or about 1 quart, I add about 0.5 cup of rum, or up to 3/4 cup for a stronger drink (image 9). If you add rum, you may need to add a little extra maple syrup as well, but this is optional.

Final step – Serve

Place slices of fresh oranges and / or apples in serving mugs or glasses and pour the mulled apple cider (image 12). Add whipped cream on top IF you like, and serve with a cinnamon stick or a stirrer.

The combination of whipped cream and spiced apple cider makes this drink taste like an apple creamsicle! Like a cross between apple pie and ice cream!

Recipe tips for success!

• Do not use hard cider, or alcoholic fermented cider! The carbonation will vanish as you heat it, and the alcohol level will also decrease. Use regular apple cider (cloudy apple juice).
• If you’re using alcohol like rum or bourbon to make spiked mulled apple cider, then add the alcohol after simmering. Not cooking or simmering the alcohol will keep the liquor flavor strong.
• If you’re making this ahead of time, remember to remove the spices to avoid over-infusing. However, if you taste it and want more spice flavor, leave the mulling spices in as the cider cools down. Only add the alcohol before serving, while warm, so that reheating the cider will not take away the strong flavor of the liquor.
• As a rule of thumb, the longer you simmer the spices, the stronger the flavors. If you’re using a slow cooker or crockpot, the cider will be heated for up to 2 hours instead of 20 minutes on the stove. So add less spice, or expect it to have a stronger spice profile.
• Choose your spices to suit your taste buds! It’s absolutely OK to adapt and change the spices you use. If you like masala chai, go ahead and use chai spices as your mulling spices! If you don’t like spicy heat, don’t add black peppercorn. If you like licorice (unlike me), add star anise. Obviously I am very big on flavor and spices, which is why I like to add a range of spices, because the flavor here is intricately complex!

But to choose your spices, you need to understand what each spice adds to the flavor profile of your apple cider. More of that below.

How to choose your mulling spices

Here’s how I choose my spices.

• The two most important spices to use are cinnamon and cloves. The rest is optional, and will depend on what flavors you like. Cinnamon adds an earthy sweetness, and cloves add strong spice and heat, with sweetness and an intense aroma.
• All spice – Adds a lovely warm, woody, sharp flavor. It’s said to be a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg in terms of flavor, but to me it tastes much more than that! It even has a little bit of a smokiness, which is probably the “woody” flavor. Allspice berries are dried little berries that are larger than peppercorn, and if you have cooked with this spice, you’ll know how delicious it is! If you have access to red spicebush, then you can use that instead. The flavor blends in well with cinnamon and nutmeg, so it’s a great addition.
• Star anise – Sweet, with licorice flavor. I love using this spice in some applications. But because I’m using cloves here that are also sweet and strong, I opted to not add star anise here. But if you like licorice, then I highly recommend adding star anise. But 1 whole star anise goes a long way, so don’t add too much.
• Nutmeg – Nutty, sweet, and very aromatic! The aroma of nutmeg will always be associated with eggnog for me. But it’ll add the same flavor to other spiced drinks too (like this horchata drink). But because nutmeg can be strong and large amounts can be over-powering (and psychoactive!), just a little will be more than enough.
• Green cardamom – Peppery, floral, citrus, and a hint of eucalyptus-like flavor. I LOVE cardamom, but the trick is to never bite a cardamom, because the flavor is so strong!
• Ginger – A lovely fresh, spicy, peppery bite! Plus, ginger pairs so well with cinnamon and all spice!
• Black peppercorn – Whole black peppercorn is my favorite spice! I LOVE the smell of good quality black peppercorns – woody, herby, piney, citrusy aroma and the smoky heat profile.

I add both pepper and ginger because my husband and I love spicy, and a little heat in our sweet apple cider. The sweetness is balanced beautifully with the warmth from all the other spices, plus the heat from ginger, pepper, and cloves.

Non-alcoholic “spiked” apple cider

Did you know that you can also get a similar flavor to spiked apple cider WITHOUT adding alcohol? So the flavor can be pretty close, but there will be no buzz!

Simply add some non-alcoholic rum extract or brandy extract. But you can also buy non-alcoholic liquor now too. Brands such as lyre’s and ritual have rum and whiskey that has no alcohol!

Spice variations and spice blends

Besides individual spices, you can also use spice blends! But just know that ground spices can be less potent (unless freshly ground), and it’s harder to filter it out from your apple cider.

• Chai spices or masala chai is an excellent spice blend. Especially my own blend of authentic masala chai that has so much flavor!
• Apple pie spice
• Pumpkin spice

Fruity, and other flavor variations for apple cider

You don’t have to limit your spiced apple cider to just spices. You can also add other fruity flavors to make the cider more like a spiced fruit punch cider.

• Add whole raspberries or strawberries to infuse the berry flavor, and to also add a lovely pink hue.
• Blood oranges, like I did here, which add a very unique citrus flavor and also add a very light pink hue. Apple and citrus go well together, which is why I love this apple lemonade too.
• Add pear juice along with the apple cider.
• Browned butter to add a delicious creamy mouthfeel and buttery flavor – like an apple flavored butterbeer!
• Add toasted pecans to the cider to simmer, for a lovely nutty flavor.

Storage and make ahead tips

Make ahead instructions

You can make this ahead of time if you like. The apple cider can be simmered with the spices (mulled), and then stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

However, heat up the apple cider until it’s warm before serving. I also recommend only adding the rum (or any alcohol), before serving.

To store leftovers

Leftovers can also be stored in the fridge for up to a week or so. You can absolutely drink it cold as well, but it can also be reheated before drinking.

If you make a spiked version, heat the leftover mulled cider only until just warm.

Frequently asked questions