i like champagne but... this is not what i wanted.

I tried out making a cider just by taking some fresh pressed juice and doing the Camden tablets, yeast nutrient, added champagne yeast (as the brew store guy recommended) and let it take off. Today, I racked it over to my secondary and I stole a little sample out and it smells and almost tastes like tart champagne. I do indeed enjoy champagne however I was aiming for the main brand strongbow tasting cider. So, I added some splenda to the sample and tried to add some sweetness to it. The result seemed as though I would not be able to make of it anything similar to the ciders I've tried. I know this is a common topic with people being surprised with their results. I'm now looking for some straightforward answers on how to make something like strongbow or any other mainstream cider. As I’ve seen, most replies in this topic recomend back sweetening, but from what I’ve tasted there is little hope for my cider to resemble any commercial cider. Please tell me I’m wrong!
Thanks for your help!
scott

Ciders take time to mature to their best flavors, and if you just racked to secondary, it's got a long way to go. Give it some time, LOTS of time. Taste it again in a few months (3 and 6 months), then try sweetening it if you still want to.

just my opinion, of course

Leave it in the secondary for 2-3 months. Hit it with K-sorbate and Campden & sweeten to taste.

I've used cider yeast and gotten good results after 6-8 weeks in bottles. It is not overly sweet but definately not dry. I used nothing to sweeten after and I did not halt fermentation.

My main advice is next time use an ale or cider yeast. They won't ferment out as dry as a champagne or wine yeast.

Give it some time. My wife did a cider recently and after a few weeks it made me pucker, very tart and dry. After a few months however, it's much more mellow and I can drink it Not sweet, but not overly dry either.

I wouldn't mess with adding anything until it's at least a few months old. At that point if you want to sweeten it up, you can kill of the yeast and add lactose/sugar/honey/juice/whatever.