I had a bunch of apples and decided I wanted apple cider. So I started to play around with apples and spices. I made sure to write down every step in case it came out ok. Well it came out great. It's a little on the strong side but my family LOVES it. We will be making this again. I used Honey Crisp Apples but I'm sure other types would be great also. You could also use 3 cinnamon sticks instead of ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground cloves instead of whole cloves.