Apple Cider Syrup
Apple cider syrup is cloudy apple juice simmered down by half and sweetened with demerara: 500ml of juice and 200g of sugar make about 350ml. Made from juice it is alcohol-free; the name follows American usage, where apple cider means unfiltered apple juice, while British cider is alcoholic. It lasts one week chilled and seasons a drink at 15ml.
Quick Facts
Refrigerated in a sealed jar or bottle once cool.
None of the 14 listed allergens.
About Apple Cider Syrup
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Baked apple over light caramel: the juice’s acidity concentrated alongside its sugar, so it lands rich but not flat.
Apple cider syrup is apple juice reduced and sweetened
The house syrup takes 500ml of cloudy apple juice, simmers it to about 250ml, and stirs in 200g of demerara off the heat, for about 350ml. Reducing drives off water and concentrates what the juice already had, its sugar and its acidity; the demerara adds body and a darker sweetness, so that it pours like a syrup.
In Britain, cider means the alcoholic drink
The name is American. In the US and Canada, apple cider is unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic apple juice, the drink Britain calls cloudy apple juice, and the fermented kind is hard cider. In Britain cider is fermented and alcoholic, so the house recipe uses cloudy apple juice and says so: the syrup contains no alcohol, and a version reduced from real cider would not be reliably alcohol-free.
A lighter relative of New England's boiled cider
Boiled cider, first made in colonial New England, is fresh cider boiled down to around a seventh of its volume with nothing added: a thick, sharp concentrate once used as a household sweetener in place of imported sugar. The house syrup stops far short of that and adds sugar, which makes it easier to pour and measure.
Apple cider syrup against the apple ingredients near it
House apple cider syrup
- Made from
- Cloudy apple juice and demerara
- Concentration
- Reduced by half
- Alcohol
- None
- Keeps
- One week, refrigerated
Boiled cider
- Made from
- Fresh apple cider, nothing added
- Concentration
- Reduced to about a seventh
- Alcohol
- None
- Keeps
- As the maker states
Cloudy apple juice
- Made from
- Pressed apples
- Concentration
- Unreduced
- Alcohol
- None
- Keeps
- Three to four days once opened, refrigerated
British cider
- Made from
- Fermented apple juice
- Concentration
- Unreduced
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic
- Keeps
- As the label says
| Ingredient | Made from | Concentration | Alcohol | Keeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House apple cider syrup | Cloudy apple juice and demerara | Reduced by half | None | One week, refrigerated |
| Boiled cider | Fresh apple cider, nothing added | Reduced to about a seventh | None | As the maker states |
| Cloudy apple juice | Pressed apples | Unreduced | None | Three to four days once opened, refrigerated |
| British cider | Fermented apple juice | Unreduced | Alcoholic | As the label says |
In the Harvest Mule, 15ml carries the apple
The Harvest Mule uses 15ml with 50ml of bourbon, 20ml of lime and 90ml of ginger beer; its recipe suggests 10ml for a drier drink. Measure it as a syrup: at that concentration a little carries the apple through the ginger.
Using Apple Cider Syrup
Usage
Our Harvest Mule takes 15ml with 50ml of bourbon, 20ml of lime and 90ml of ginger beer, and 10ml makes it drier. Measure it as a syrup, not a juice: a little concentrated apple goes a long way.
House Recipe
Ingredients
- 500ml cloudy apple juice
- 200g demerara sugar
Method
- Simmer the juice over a medium heat until it has reduced to about 250ml.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the demerara until dissolved.
- Cool, bottle, label with the date and refrigerate.
Food safety
Made from juice with nothing but sugar preserving it, so it lives in the fridge. Discard it if it fizzes, smells fermented or grows mould.
Pro Tip
If the Harvest Mule tastes of ginger beer and little else, the syrup is under-reduced. Take the next batch the full way to 250ml before the demerara goes in, and the apple holds its own at the same 15ml.
Top Tips
- Use cloudy apple juice, as the recipe specifies, and stop the reduction at half: further and the syrup thickens towards a set.
- Measure the reduction in a jug rather than by eye: about 250ml is the mark before the sugar goes in.
- Use juice, not British cider. Cider is alcoholic, and simmering does not reliably drive all of the alcohol off.
Possible Substitutions
- Cinnamon Syrup: Stirred into cloudy apple juice: a quicker, thinner shortcut, with spice in place of depth
Production Method
500ml of cloudy apple juice simmered over a medium heat to about 250ml, then 200g of demerara sugar stirred in until dissolved; cooled and bottled. No alcohol: it is made from juice, not cider.
History & Context
The syrup echoes boiled cider, an apple concentrate first made in colonial New England by boiling fresh cider down to about a seventh of its volume and used as a household sweetener in place of imported sugar. Boiled cider is unsweetened and far more concentrated than the house syrup.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is apple cider syrup?
Does apple cider syrup contain alcohol?
Can I make apple cider syrup with British cider?
How do I make apple cider syrup?
How long does apple cider syrup keep?
Is apple cider syrup the same as boiled cider?
Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider syrup?
Made with Apple Cider Syrup
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Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026