Mixers

Dry Cider

Dry cider is apple juice fermented until little sugar is left, and in Britain cider always means the alcoholic drink. UK duty law requires at least 35% apple or pear juice and keeps cider under 8.5% ABV; our recipes work on about 5%. It warms in the Wassail and lengthens whiskey in a Stone Fence.

Quick Facts

ABV5% ABVCider must be under 8.5% for UK duty; dry ciders run about 4.5 to 8%, and our recipes count 5%.

Legal categoryCiderAt least 35% apple or pear juice and under 8.5% ABV for UK duty; stronger, it is taxed as an other fermented product

Flavour Strengthlight medium

Our keeping timeOpened: two to three days refrigerated before it flattens.

Storage

Cool and sealed; refrigerate once opened and treat it like wine, not squash.

Allergens

Contains: sulphites. Most ciders contain sulphites: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Dry Cider

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Orchard fruitTanninSharp acidity

Tasting Notes

Apple with the sweetness fermented away: tart, lightly tannic and clean, closer to white wine than to the juice it came from.

Cider in Britain is the alcoholic drink

In Britain, cider is apple juice pressed and then turned alcoholic by yeast. Americans use the word for fresh, unfiltered juice and call the fermented drink hard cider. So when a US recipe asks for apple cider, the British equivalent is cloudy apple juice, which contains no alcohol.

The law sets the juice and the strength

For UK duty, HMRC defines cider as under 8.5% ABV, made with at least 35% apple or pear juice in the mixture that ferments and at least 35% in the finished drink, at a gravity of 1033 degrees or more. An apple drink at 8.5% or more is taxed as an other fermented product, formerly called made-wine. Perry, made from pears, follows the same rules.

Cider and the drinks confused with it

British dry cider

Alcohol: Under 8.5%; we count 5%
Made from: Fermented apple juice
In our recipes: Wassail, Stone Fence

Cloudy apple juice

Alcohol: None
Made from: Pressed, unfiltered apple juice
In our recipes: The alcohol-free swap

American apple cider

Alcohol: None
Made from: Fresh, unfiltered apple juice
In our recipes: Read it as cloudy apple juice

American hard cider

Alcohol: Varies; check the label
Made from: Fermented apple juice
In our recipes: The same drink as British cider

Perry

Alcohol: Under 8.5%
Made from: Fermented pear juice
In our recipes: Not used

	Alcohol	Made from	In our recipes
British dry cider	Under 8.5%; we count 5%	Fermented apple juice	Wassail, Stone Fence
Cloudy apple juice	None	Pressed, unfiltered apple juice	The alcohol-free swap
American apple cider	None	Fresh, unfiltered apple juice	Read it as cloudy apple juice
American hard cider	Varies; check the label	Fermented apple juice	The same drink as British cider
Perry	Under 8.5%	Fermented pear juice	Not used

Dry cider holds up in a hot bowl

The Wassail warms 500ml of dry cider with apple juice and spice, cinnamon, ginger and cloves pressed into an orange, hot but never simmering; the cider's acidity stops the bowl tasting of syrup. The Stone Fence uses 120ml to lengthen bourbon or rye and a little Angostura. Choose a dry cider for both: the Wassail is sweetened to taste with brown sugar, and a sweet cider leaves no room for it.

Using it

Using Dry Cider

Usage

The Wassail heats 500ml of it with twice as much cloudy apple juice and spice, for eight to ten cups. The Stone Fence tops 60ml of whiskey and bitters on ice with 120ml. Without alcohol, swap in cloudy apple juice: the drink American recipes mean when they say apple cider.

Pro Tip

Open the cider for a Stone Fence only when the whiskey and bitters are already over ice, and tilt the glass while pouring. Still cider gives the older tavern drink, sparkling cider a livelier one; either way it goes in cold.

Top Tips

Read the strength first. Our measures assume about 5%, and a farmhouse cider well over that makes a much stronger bowl.
Warm cider gently and never boil it, which drives off aroma first and some of the alcohol after.
Choose dry. A sweet cider adds sugar the recipe has not allowed for, and the Wassail is sweetened to taste anyway.
Refrigerate an open bottle; a sparkling cider is flat within a few days.

Possible Substitutions

Cloudy Apple Juice: The alcohol-free stand-in: sweeter and softer, with no alcohol at all

Production Method

Pressed apple juice fermented by wild or added yeast over weeks to months until most of the sugar is gone, then racked off its sediment. For UK duty at least 35% apple or pear juice must go into the ferment and into the finished drink.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Is dry cider alcoholic?

Yes. In Britain cider is always the fermented drink, and UK duty law keeps it under 8.5% ABV. We count a dry cider at about 5% in our recipes. What American recipes call apple cider is unfiltered, alcohol-free apple juice, sold here as cloudy apple juice; the American name for our cider is hard cider.

What does dry mean on a cider?

That the yeast has used up most of the apples' sugar, so the cider tastes tart and clean rather than sweet. Medium and sweet ciders keep more sugar, or have some added back. Dry is what our Wassail and Stone Fence assume, because the other ingredients, or the brown sugar in the Wassail, set the sweetness.

How much apple juice has to be in cider?

At least 35% apple or pear juice, both in the mixture that ferments and in the finished drink, for it to be taxed as cider in the UK. The juice must also have a gravity of at least 1033 degrees, which rules out heavily watered juice. Plenty of makers use far more than the minimum.

How strong is cider?

Under 8.5% ABV, or it is not cider for UK duty; at 8.5% or more it is taxed as an other fermented product. Most dry ciders sit between about 4.5 and 8%, and 5% is our working figure. The 120ml in a Stone Fence then carries about 0.6 UK units, and a 500ml bottle about 2.5.

Is cider gluten-free?

Plain cider is: Coeliac UK lists cider with wine and spirits as gluten-free, because it is made from apples or pears, not grain. Beer, lager and stout are the drinks that contain gluten. A flavoured cider can carry other ingredients, so read the ingredients on anything beyond plain apple or pear.

Can I use apple juice instead of cider?

Cloudy apple juice makes an alcohol-free version that is sweeter and softer. In our Stone Fence it gives a gentler drink with all its alcohol from the whiskey; in the Wassail it leaves the bowl alcohol-free unless you add the optional brandy or calvados at the end.

How long does cider keep once opened?

A sparkling cider stays lively in the fridge for a couple of days, then goes flat. For a hot Wassail a cider that has lost its fizz does no harm, since warming drives off the gas anyway; for a Stone Fence open a fresh one. Unopened, store it somewhere cool and drink it before its date.

Make something

Made with Dry Cider

Featured In These Cocktails

Wassail Stone Fence

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026

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