Spiked apple cider is an easy seasonal cocktail recipe that will warm your spirits. It is the perfect hot apple cider cocktail for chilly nights, fall and winter festivities, Thanksgiving and Christmas! Learn how to make this easy-sipping spiked cider recipe with a few simple tips and tricks along the way.

Three white mugs filled with spiked apple cider, each garnished with a cinnamon stick and a lemon slice, placed on a wooden board. A small bowl with extra cinnamon sticks and a cloth are beside them.

There’s nothing quite like a classic, and this apple cider cocktail has warmed up even the coldest evenings this fall. In fact, it seems I’ve acquired a taste for bourbon and there’s no turning back. Recently, I shared an apple cider bourbon slush recipe, but now that the temperatures have dropped to freezing, I have been brewing bourbon-spiked Homemade Apple Cider on the stove.

Just one spiked apple cider cocktail and I’m feeling festive. They not only make your home smell like fall and winter, but feel like it, too. You can use your favorite alcohol for this recipe – it’s so flexible and delicious!

Three white mugs filled with a brown liquid, garnished with orange slices and cinnamon sticks, are placed on a wooden board beside apple slices—perfect for enjoying spiked apple cider.

Ingredients

Apple Cider – It’s easy to make your own. Or, if you can find apple cider at your nearest farmer’s market or farm stand, you’re off to a good start!
Bourbon – Use your favorite brand.
Apple – Freshly sliced for additional apple flavor.
Pear – Pears add a subtle, rounded flavor to the spiked cider.
Cinnamon Sticks & Star Anise – Two warming spices that pair beautifully with apple. If you can’t find them in whole form, simply omit them, as the ground varieties will impart a chalky texture.

A cup of spiked apple cider garnished with a cinnamon stick, star anise, and a slice of orange.

Variations

Cider – Try this recipe with Pear Cider instead.
More Fragrance – Add my homemade mulling spices to add fragrance and flavor.
Skip the Alcohol – When following the directions, just skip the bourbon and only heat together the apple cider, fruit, and spices.

A white pot on a stove filled with hot spiked apple cider, garnished with slices of apple and lemon, cinnamon sticks, and star anise.

Spiking Suggestions

Bourbon is a classic to warm you through and through. If you aren’t a fan of bourbon, you can always use different alcohol. Brandy or a dark aged rum all pair perfectly with the sweet flavors of the spices and apple cider.

We love Maker’s Mark, Bulleit, Four Roses and Basil Hayden’s for Bourbon.

Three white mugs with lemon slices and cinnamon sticks on a round wooden serving board, next to a small bowl of cinnamon sticks, all placed on a white countertop, perfect for serving spiked apple cider.

Tips from my Test Kitchen

You can use 2-3 cups of bourbon to your preference. I tend to like mine strong, so I use 3 cups. It helps balance the sweet flavors of apple cider.
Buy fresh apple cider or unfiltered apple juice for the best flavor – or try my homemade cider, it’s so easy!
I like to serve my spiked apple cider in oversized mugs for easy sipping.

Garnish

Use Star of Anise, apple slices, orange or lemon slices, cinnamon sticks and more!

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40 mins

spiked apple cider in cream mug with orange slice cinnamon stick and star of anise

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Spiked Apple Cider

By Julie Blanner

This Spiked Apple Cider with bourbon is an easy seasonal cocktail recipe that will warm your spirits.

Prep: 5

Cook: 10

Total: 15

Servings:

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Ingredients

Instructions

In a large pot, combine cider, bourbon, apple, pear, cinnamon sticks and star of anise over medium-low for 10 minutes.
½ gallon apple cider, 2-3 cups bourbon, 1 apple, 1 pear, 6 cinnamon sticks, star of anise
Reduce to low and serve warm. Garnish with cinnamon stick, orange slices, star of anise or lemon, pear or apple slices.

Julie’s Tips

Adjust the alcohol to your personal preference. In fact, you can easily eliminate it altogether! We like it strong, so we lean towards 3 cups of bourbon in this recipe.