Mixers

Cloudy Apple Juice

Cloudy apple juice is pressed apple juice left unfiltered, and it contains no alcohol. It is what an American recipe means by apple cider; in Britain cider means the fermented, alcoholic drink, which our recipes count at 5% ABV. It is the body of the Wassail, the Hot Toffee Apple and the English Garden, warmed or poured cold.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Flavour Strengthlight medium

Our keeping timeOpened: three to four days refrigerated. Fresh-pressed: days, not months.

Storage

Refrigerated once opened, and before opening for fresh-pressed bottles.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Cloudy Apple Juice

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Fresh appleOrchardGentle acidity

Tasting Notes

The whole apple rather than its sugar: flesh, skin and a soft acidity that filtered juice trades away.

Unfiltered, and alcohol-free

Clear apple juice is filtered to take out the fine pulp and the cloud. Cloudy apple juice is not, and it keeps more of the apple's body and flesh. Neither contains alcohol. The cloud also settles in the bottle, so shake it before you pour.

Our recipes prefer it pressed, not from concentrate. Juice made back up from concentrate tastes mainly of sugar once it is warm, and warm is how the Hot Spiced Cider and the Fireside Punch are drunk.

Cider means one thing in America and another in Britain

In the United States, apple cider is unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice with no alcohol, and the fermented kind is called hard cider. Outside North America, cider means the alcoholic drink. A British cider is fermented apple juice, and our recipes count dry cider at 5% ABV.

So read a recipe by where it was written. Where an American recipe says apple cider, use cloudy apple juice. Where a British one says cider, it means the alcoholic drink, and swapping one for the other changes the strength of the glass.

Apple juice, American apple cider and British cider

Alcohol

Cloudy apple juice: None
Clear apple juice: None
American apple cider: None
British cider: Yes; our dry cider is counted at 5% ABV

Filtered

Cloudy apple juice: No
Clear apple juice: Yes
American apple cider: No
British cider: Varies

Taste

Cloudy apple juice: Fresh apple, fuller body
Clear apple juice: Sweeter and thinner
American apple cider: Fresh apple, tangy
British cider: Dry to sweet, fermented

Keeps once opened

Cloudy apple juice: Three to four days refrigerated
Clear apple juice: As the label says
American apple cider: As the label says
British cider: Two to three days refrigerated before it goes flat

In our recipes

Cloudy apple juice: Wassail, Hot Toffee Apple, English Garden
Clear apple juice: Green Batched Punch, for its colour
American apple cider: Use cloudy apple juice
British cider: Alongside the juice in the Wassail

	Cloudy apple juice	Clear apple juice	American apple cider	British cider
Alcohol	None	None	None	Yes; our dry cider is counted at 5% ABV
Filtered	No	Yes	No	Varies
Taste	Fresh apple, fuller body	Sweeter and thinner	Fresh apple, tangy	Dry to sweet, fermented
Keeps once opened	Three to four days refrigerated	As the label says	As the label says	Two to three days refrigerated before it goes flat
In our recipes	Wassail, Hot Toffee Apple, English Garden	Green Batched Punch, for its colour	Use cloudy apple juice	Alongside the juice in the Wassail

Warm it to a steam, or pour it cold

Warm it until it steams and stop there. Boiling drives off the fresh apple smell and, in a punch with spirit already in it, some of the alcohol as well.

Cold, it lengthens a gin or bourbon drink and brings some acidity of its own. In the English Garden, 50ml of it is the body under gin, elderflower and lemon; in the Toffee Apple Sour, 20ml adds fruit beside the bourbon and lemon.

Three to four days once opened

Once opened, keep it in the fridge and use it within three to four days. Unpasteurised juice from a farm press needs the fridge before it is opened too, and keeps only a few days. Juice pressed at home browns as a cut apple does; the colour changes, not the safety.

Using it

Using Cloudy Apple Juice

Usage

50ml in the English Garden, 20ml in the Toffee Apple Sour, 150ml warmed in the Hot Toffee Apple, and a litre or more as the base of the Wassail and the Hot Spiced Cider. Warm it until it steams, never to the boil.

Pro Tip

For an alcohol-free Wassail, use the cloudy apple juice alone and leave out the cider and the brandy, as the recipe allows. Keep the spices and the clove-studded orange; they carry the bowl.

Top Tips

Choose cloudy and pressed, not from concentrate; clear juice from concentrate tastes mostly of sugar once warm.
Where an American recipe says apple cider, use this. Where a British one says cider, it means the alcoholic drink.
Warm it gently and stop when it steams; boiling drives off the fresh apple.
Shake the bottle before pouring, since the cloud settles.

Possible Substitutions

Dry Cider: where alcohol is welcome: the fermented sibling

Production Method

Apples milled and pressed, then bottled without fine filtration: the suspended fruit solids carry the cloud and much of the flavour. Pasteurised for the shelf; fresh from the press at farm shops in season.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Is apple cider the same as apple juice?

In an American recipe, apple cider means unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice with no alcohol, so cloudy apple juice is the right swap. In Britain cider is the fermented, alcoholic drink. The words alone do not tell you which is meant; where the recipe was written does.

Does cloudy apple juice contain alcohol?

No. It is pressed apple juice that has not been fermented, so it is alcohol-free, and the Wassail can be made with it alone for an alcohol-free bowl. British cider is the fermented version and is alcoholic; our recipes count dry cider at 5% ABV.

What is the difference between cloudy and clear apple juice?

Filtering. Clear juice has the fine pulp and cloud taken out; cloudy juice keeps them, with more body and more fresh-apple flavour, and it settles in the bottle, so shake it first. Our hot drinks use cloudy; the Green Batched Punch allows clear to keep its colour bright.

What drinks use cloudy apple juice?

Among our recipes: the Wassail and the Hot Spiced Cider as the base, the Hot Toffee Apple warmed with bourbon and caramel, the Fireside Punch, and cold in the English Garden and the Toffee Apple Sour. In each one it is the alcohol-free apple, not cider.

Can I use British cider instead of cloudy apple juice?

Only if you want the alcohol. Cider adds strength as well as flavour: in the Hot Toffee Apple, using cider in place of the 150ml of juice adds about 0.7 units, as the recipe notes. For an alcohol-free drink, or one at the strength written, keep the juice.

How long does apple juice keep once opened?

Three to four days, chilled and capped. Unpasteurised juice from a farm press needs the fridge before opening as well and keeps only a few days. A fizz or a sour, yeasty smell is fermentation starting, so pour it away.

Why does fresh apple juice go brown?

The same reaction that browns a cut apple: an enzyme in the fruit reacts with air and darkens it. Many cartons list added vitamin C, which slows it. The colour changes but the juice is still fine to drink that day; it simply looks dull in the glass.

Make something

Made with Cloudy Apple Juice

Featured In These Cocktails

English Garden Wassail Hot Toffee Apple Toffee Apple Sour Hot Spiced Cider Fireside Punch

Show all 8 cocktails

Green Batched Punch Spiced Rum Punch

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 10 October 2026

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