apple ice wine-ice cider who makes it, recipes?

I am a big fan of applejack, no wait, I am a huge fan of applejack, okay, that isn't a fair description of my affection for applejack. When it comes to applejack, I can't think of anything I would rather drink than my home brew applejack.Well, that is what I thought until I tried ice cider. ****,where have you guys been hiding this stuff?I would say I live near the wrong coast and that is why I had never seen a bottle of it in my favorite liquor store. To be honest I never looked, I never knew such a song sung by ethereal cherubs even existed! I have to be honest, as of yet I still have not tasted a bottle of store-bought ice cider and I must say if it tastes better than mine does, bring a pair of handcuffs because otherwise you will never get me out of the store.
I have read reviews written by those that possibly have have more whimsical taste buds than I do, and I am okay with that. I have never heard of blueberry leather, but I am sure I could rock a raspberry beret. But I digress... My new favorite yeast is 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast, and when fermented at less than 60 degrees F, it does magical things to the juice of apples; they taste like peach and cantaloupe and even a hint of banana.The flavor is nothing less than amazing and fermentation is still in progress, I can't hardly imagine what this ice cider of mine can grow up to be after a year in the bottle.My applejack after a year in the bottle becomes something almost magical in and of itself, and something my close friends are always asking if there will be any to drink at the next neighbors get-together. Fermenting something that can take up to six months to ferment, and then wait at least a year before drinking, and this stuff is not cheap to make (kind of like a mead would take) really tries the patience.
My point is, does anybody have any tried-and-true ice cider recipes, and if so will you please share?

81 views and no responses, really? I know I am not the only guy making apple ice wine here.

This is my cheap-o fake iced apple wine. FAJC + water, no added sugar, to hit 14% ABV.

I have a batch going right now with a very high og. used 1118 and should end up north of 18%. Pasteurized AJ, added sugar to...ALOT, simmered it to 180 with cinnamon sticks, crushed nutmeg and orange slices. I will not be freezing it to condense it as that would not be legal.

Apple juice with added sugar is completely different than concentrated apple juice.
The final product is also completely different.

Ok, after reading around here, he's making cider, I'm making wine, and the OP asked about both. So what makes it "iced"? Freezing it before, or after fermentation? Both?

Traditional "ice cider" is made by pressing partly frozen apples, concentrating the extracted juice (cryoextraction). The ice that remains consists only of water.

Home brewers may find it easier to freeze-concentrate the juice (cryoconcentration) before fermentation rather than pressing frozen apples. This is non-traditional but probably provides similar if not identical results.

What I'm calling "faux ice cider" is made with store-bought frozen apple juice concentrate (FAJC), diluted to a high target OG. The processing may have a negative flavor impact.
I've made one batch so far and the result was pretty amazing in my opinion, exactly how the OP described.

The types listed so far have nutrients, acidity, sorbitol, and flavor all proportional to the OG. They usually finish sweet by reaching the yeast ABV tolerance. The concentrated flavor and acidity balanced by alcohol and sweetness is simply amazing.

"Apple wine" is apple juice with added sugar to elevate the OG. Because the added sugar doesn't provide any beneficial flavor components, it reduces the flavor of the fermented product, increases dryness (if fermented to dry), and the fermentation is more likely to generate fusels and/or sulfide unless nutrients are used. You may need to supplement acid and/or tannins as well. Can finish sweet or can be backsweetened.

"Applejack" is cider freeze-concentrated after fermentation; it can be backsweetened.
To my knowledge (this is not legal advice), this is not illegal because freeze-concentrating is not considered distillation -- it separates water, not alcohol.

Hope this makes sense

Make any applejack you want... when it's done fermenting,put ss vessel in freezer , next day take out the ice and repeat till you get what you want

RPh_Guy said:

"Apple wine" is apple juice with added sugar to elevate the OG. Because the added sugar doesn't provide any beneficial flavor components, it reduces the flavor of the fermented product, increases dryness (if fermented to dry), and the fermentation is more likely to generate fusels and/or sulfide unless nutrients are used. You may need to supplement acid and/or tannins as well. Can finish sweet or can be backsweetened.

Click to expand...

this is useful to know as it tells me I will not get the results I want from my first attempt.

"Applejack" is cider freeze-concentrated after fermentation; it can be backsweetened.
To my knowledge (this is not legal advice), this is not illegal because freeze-concentrating is not considered distillation -- it separates water, not alcohol.

Hope this makes sense

Click to expand...

According to ATF it is considered distillation. Any form of concentrating the alcohol content is considered distillation. At least I read so from someone claiming to be quoting a response from them. I think it was on this forum.
And from what I've seen your posts always make sense as they tend to be concise and to the point.