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Home » Recipe Index » Drinks Recipes

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Updated: Jan 17, 2026 | Author: Georgie Clegg · This post may contain affiliate links

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This hot spiced apple cider is perfect for a rainy, gloomy day. A beautiful combination of spices, blended with some fresh ginger, hard cider and just a little apple juice, this will warm your soul from the inside out!

hot spiced apple cider in glasses on marble board, cider bottle and dutch oven in image

Thank you to Portland Cider Company for providing me with the product for this post. As always, all my opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make THCK possible!  

Ok, so I guess it time to really say good bye to the warm weather, and embrace the fact that I'm just going to get colder, and colder as the months go on. We have actually had some stunning fall days here. You know the ones I'm talking about? Really, really cold mornings, followed by bright sunny cool days. It's actually dreamy.

If you had asked me a few years ago if I was sad about the changing seasons, I would have said absolutely. Even if you had probably asked last year, I would have said that the end of summer was a sad occasion.

But for some reason I feel differently about it this year.

I don't know if it's an age thing, but the thought of embracing the colder weather, has actually got me a little bit excited.

two glasses of hot spiced apple cider with cinnamon quills, bottle of cider behind glasses

I am a summer baby at heart, but I came to the realisation that damn, America knows how to do fall well. And it is getting me excited!

The fall leaves, the holiday seasons, the festivities and celebrations that occur from now up until the end of December, this time of year is actually my favourite.

I am a little excited to bring out the boots, and the down vest, and am even more excited about the prospects of sipping wine in front of the fire in our new house, reading a book or watching a feel good film.

Made better by the fact that there might be a little golden retriever nugget running around our house (more on that to come at the end of the month!) ????

I think I might just have to become a home body this holiday season! We had such a crazy busy summer, it's going to be so nice to just relax a little bit toward the end of the year and focus on a few projects.

collage of person drinking hot spiced apple cider - top left image hot spiced apple cider glass sitting in front of person, image bottom left person holding cider glass staring out window, right image person ladling hot spiced apple cider into glasses

If I'm honest, the thing that is getting my most excited about the cooler weather, is the prospect of comfort food and drinks.

Seriously, how good it is, coming home after a day at work, let's say on a Friday. Chucking on your ugg boots (you know what they are right?), a thick hoodie, making a big beef stew or pot of soup and sitting down with a warm glass of mulled wine, or hot spiced apple cider.

Are you feeling me?

Embracing Hot Spiced Apple Cider

I started to embrace hot (alcoholic) drinks back when we were living north of Spokane and were under a few feet of snow. I discovered my love for hot spiced apple cider when I went to the Pike Place Market for the first time and bought a little homemade packet of spiced for hot apple cider.

I hadn't ever really had anything like it before. Then I realised you could add bourbon or rum, and all was good in the world.

I thought this fall I'd take the opportunity to make my own, having been given some free cider products from Portland Cider Co. I used their passionfruit cider in a punch last month, and genuinely love their cider products.

hot spiced apple cider in glass with cinnamon quill

How to Make Hot Spiced Apple Cider with Alcohol

For this recipe I opted to use alcoholic apple cider. Spiced apple cider can definitely be made with dry or sweet cider and in fact, it's actually a method I prefer! For this recipe, you can use their sorta sweet or kinda dry. I used their kinda dry cider for this recipe, but the sorta sweet would work perfectly as well, it may just be ever so slightly sweeter!

I opted for relatively traditional spices, but added some fresh ginger for extra pizazz, because everyone needs some pizazz in their life! Oh, and because flu season is approaching. Ginger = great for colds

So, let's have a drink together, and celebrate fall in the best way I know how - with a hot spiced apple cider! Cheers friends! - Georgie x x

person ladling hot spiced apple cider into glass

📖 Recipe

Hot Spiced Apple Cider www.thehomecookskitchen.com

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Georgie Clegg
This hot spiced apple cider will warm you up from the inside out! A delicious blend of spices, with alcoholic apple cider, and just a hint of sweetness
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Cocktail
Cuisine Western
Servings 3 glasses
Calories 242 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 12 fl oz dry cider
  • 1 ½ cups apple juice see recipe notes
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely grated
  • 2 cinnamon quills
  • 8 cloves
  • 3 cardamon pods lightly crushed
  • 4 slices apple
  • ¼ cup spiced rum optional but highly recommended
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Instructions
 

  • Place cider, apple juice, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon and apple slices in a saucepan or dutch oven.
  • Heat over low to medium heat, 10 minutes, or until cider mixture is hot
  • Add spiced rum if using.
  • Serve with fresh apple slices and cinnamon quills.

Notes

I love using Trader Joe's honeycrisp apple cider (non alcoholic version). But if you can't find that, a good quality cloudy apple juice would be great.
General Notes - this recipe makes enough for 2 large glasses or 3 smaller glasses. To make more, double the recipe amounts.

Nutrition

Calories: 242kcalCarbohydrates: 41gSodium: 13mgPotassium: 303mgFiber: 5gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 80IUVitamin C: 8.3mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 0.9mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a Review!
Join the Discussion!
What's your favourite drink for the fall? Or favourite fall/winter/holiday thing to do?

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Comments

  1. Georgie says

    January 22, 2026 at 2:48 pm

    5 stars
    This hot apple cider is a hug in a mug! Flavourful and so cozy, it's also easy to make and feeds a crowd!

    Reply
  2. Lauren Grant | Zestful Kitchen says

    October 13, 2017 at 7:09 am

    Love the addition of cardamom here! This drink sounds delicious!

    Reply
    • Georgie says

      October 24, 2017 at 11:05 am

      Cardamom is such an underrated spice! i love it in chai and other spiked drinks!

      Reply
  3. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

    October 11, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    Hot (spiked) drinks are the BEST in cool weather. I'm not a winter lover but I can appreciate the excitement around the down vests and cozy clothes. I alllllways become a home body in the winter!! Looking forward to more on that fuzzy pup!

    Reply
    • Georgie says

      October 12, 2017 at 12:08 pm

      Yes absolutely agree! I like winter to a degree, like for about 2 months but that's about it! we used to get perfect winters back in Australia - around 20-24C, clear sunny days they were dreamy! Oh and you'll be getting a lot of puppy updates, he is ridiculously cute and cheeky 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says

    October 11, 2017 at 7:05 am

    I LOVE spiced cider! Fresh ginger is such a perfect addition. I don't know the Portland Cider Company but I plan on getting to know them; you know me and my love for all things Oregon :). I can't wait to hear more about your fur baby!

    Reply
5 from 1 vote

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