Cider Juice Blend

[Enkidu25]

I want to make a cherry cider or a watermelon cider but have a question. Most of the recipes I have call for making apple cider and adding the other juice as a blend. Is there a problem with just using, say, cherry juice? Is it because it is more cost effective to use an apple blend?

 

[madscientist451]

I've made cherry "cider" with sour cherries I picked myself at a local orchard.
Its not worth the trouble.
The cherry flavor ferments out and you have a beverage that doesn't taste anything like cherries.
My 2 cents: If you want a cherry flavored beverage, make a mead, then stabilize it and add cherry juice or cherry flavoring.
You can use apple juice and go for a cherry flavored cider, but cherry flavor is somewhat delicate and it may get lost if you have other competing flavors.

 

[Enkidu25]

That's what I was kind of thinking. We don't make cider and expect it to taste like apples just like we don't make wine and expect it to taste like grapes. I figured it would be fun to say this is made with only cherry or only watermelon but then you really aren't getting a cherry or watermelon flavor. I will take a look at the bottled flavorings and look at adding it before bottling. I really need to get into kegging so I can stabilize and do whatever I want with it and then force carbonate.