Sam's Choice Sparkling Cider

New member here -- a few clarification questions. I've done some homebrew beer with success and want to try a cider.

1) Since the Apple Juice is already pasteurized, do you still have to pasteurize it once bottled? I see drew above did pasteurize it, but didn't see any mention in the OP.

2) Can you substitute part of the 5 gallons of juice for another kind of juice? I was interested in having a Cranberry Apple flavor for the fall, and am just looking for any experience and tips for doing this (e.g. 4 gallons apple, 1 gallon cranberry... does the acidity affect the process, etc.).

I appreciate any help with improving my beginner's knowledge!

1-No, there is no need to pasteurize the apple juice unless you want to ensure the yeast are dead and will not carbonate the beverage beyond the capacity of the bottle to hold it. When I used to store my hard carbonated cider in the garage or in the pantry, I always pasteurized it; since I've started using plastic bottles, I simply wait until the bottles are hard and then move the cider to the refrigerator where it cold-crashes and stops additional fermentation. If you're making more than you can hold in the fridge, and you're making carbonated cider, I would definitely pasteurize, use glass bottles, and no worries. However--unless you're trying to keep the neighborhood in hard cider, once you get the rhythm down (brewing vs. drinking) you should be able to keep a constant supply going without the need for pasteurization (which also dulls the crispness of the taste). I've down-sized to a 2-1/2 gallon batch (brewdemon conical) and I find that keeps me in brew nicely with a batch always going--that's 12 to 15 plastic 740ML bottles per batch.
2-Yes, definitely experiment with different juices. I replace 1/2 gallon of apple juice with 1/2 gallon of cranberry or tart cherry juice. These juices mimic the taste you would expect from the tart apples originally used in cider making for centuries. In fact, making cider from strictly Sam's Club apple juice will give you a rather dull-tasting cider. Adding 1/2 gallon of cranberry juice makes it perfect--it's exactly the taste of a good Irish hard apple cider.

Awesome! Thanks for the insight there.

So it's okay to use old 2L soda plastic bottles with the screw on plastic cap with cider? Obviously with my beer I just use glass bottles and a capper. How would you sanitize the old soda bottles - i'm thinking the dishwasher may warp them.

Absolutely okay - old plastic 2L soda bottles, 1L bottles, even the little 8oz. club soda bottles. Wash them out with a bit of dish soap, rinse well, and then use Starsan on them prior to bottling. Fill a bottle, give it a shake, pour into the next bottle with a funnel, give it a shake, etc., etc., etc. Put the sanitized bottles upside down on your dishwasher rack and let them drain, but don't worry if they're not drained completely before bottling--the foam left over doesn't hurt a thing
Remember that the smaller bottles will carbonate much faster than the larger bottles, so give them a squeeze everyday after the first 3 or 4 days. The batch I'm drinking right now carbed up in only 5 days--it's important to keep an eye on it when you're "bottle carbonating" and cold crash them as soon as the bottles are "tight."
I've used every method to bottle carbonate and I still maintain that the addition of thawed frozen apple juice concentrate just prior to bottling is the best. 1/4 can per gallon. Pour it in, give it a gentle, little stir, wait 10-15 minutes, and then bottle. The yeast you stir up will sink to the bottom within 2 days after cold-crashing.
The tablets work well, too, but I can get concentrate at the grocery store and have to buy the tablets on-line.
Good luck!