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Adrienne, what have you tried that you don't like and what might you be looking for? That might help with recipe suggestions.

It sounds kind of gross, but hot cider with a shot of butterscotch schnapps is remarkably tasty.

We generally go the DIY route - just warm the fresh cider on the stove with maybe a cinnamon stick or two, and the have the rum off to the side for folks to add to taste. With some friends who don't drink it seems to work out well!

I simmer it with a few cinnamon sticks, some cardamom pods and a couple of cloves until it's nice and fragrant, and then pour it into warmed mugs with a nice dose of brandy in them.

It's just magical on a cold night.

I found a simple recipe from the "100 Proof Cocktail Planner" that I have been making every fall for the past five or six years. The recipe is for hot cider, but I've also done this cold and it has been fine. I usually increase the amount of cider as it is fairly strong as is. It's a pretty flexible template and you can play around with it to get the right amount and strength. For a large party I use about 4-6 gallons of cider, 2 handles of spiced rum and 1.5 liters of Yukon Jack. You can toss some fruit in there if you want to get real fancy. Good luck!

Yukon Jack O' Lantern Hard Cider

Ingredients:
1 Gallon Apple Cider
1 Liter Spiced Rum
1 Liter Yukon Jack
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Pumpkin (optional)

Method:
Warm the cider in a large pot over a low flame (do not bring to a boil) with the cinnamon sticks. Stir in the Yukon Jack. Stir in the Spiced Rum. Remove from heat then transfer into a large bowl and serve.

Optional: hallow out large pumpkin. Place the punch bowl into the pumpkin and serve.

I'm of the 'heat apple cider, add dark rum, bourbon or applejack' variety of boozy apple cider, but these all sound good too.

The hot buttered bourbon and cider recipe mentioned in the post is amazing. We made it last Thanksgiving and it was one of the highlights. So rich and warm and soothing.

We just made some for our tailgate Saturday, and went the easy route: available for mixing were Captain Morgan's Spiced rum and Hot Damn! Burst hot cinnamon schnapps. No one complained.

This is my favorite:

1 gallon unfiltered apple cider (I like the Santa Cruz organic)
2 Cinammon Sticks
a handful of cloves
the peel from one small orange and one lemon

Simmer everything together until it's hot and steam rises from the pot. Ladle into mugs with a shot of Brandy or Rum.

The citrus is key!

http://www.paintedpeach.blogspot.com

discovery made while testing this very conundrum prior to a party i threw last weekend...apple cider and jack daniels is an excellent combo - seriously, even if you don't like whiskey, this is pretty great. my new favorite fall cocktail! for the actual party, we simmered the cider with a ton of jack, some captain morgan's and a bit of brandy, then added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. was a hit.

Trader Joes Apple Cider
Mt. Gay Rum

-heat the cider, spike it with Mt. Gay.
enough said.

I make this every year for our annual Christmas party: About a gallon and a half of cider, a full liter of Cinnamon Schnapps, two oranges halved with cloves stuck in, a few cinnamon sticks, some freshly grated nutmeg, and a little bit of all-spice. We put everything but the alcohol into a slow cooker in the corner of the room a few hours before guests arrive, and then add in the schnapps right before we start serving. It's incredible : )

My dad's never fail super spicy hot cider:
Gallon Cider
Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
Dozen Whole Cloves
Pinch of Ginger
1/4 C. of Sugar, or less to taste
1/2 of a big Navel Orange or a whole smaller Orange, cut into slices
Heat up as slowly as possible. Heat on a simmer for as long as you can wait. The longer you wait the more integrated the spices get, and the more concentrated the cider gets. Try not to boil it, though. A crock pot works nicely. When you can't wait for that spicy goodness anymore, serve it up. Add spiced rum to taste, and a slice of the orange and a cinnamon stick to garnish.
I always make this for parties in the fall and winter, and it never fails to impress.

Our family mulled cider recipe:

1 gal. cider
3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches each)
3 teaspoons whole cloves
3 teaspoons whole allspice
1 lemon (or orange) sliced thin, slices squeezed and then tossed into cider
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to simmer. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, remove spices and citrus slices. [If you leave the spices and citrus in longer than around 15 minutes once it reaches a simmer it turns the cider bitter.] Serve.

I've also found that if I put the spices in the top basket portion of a coffee urn and turn it on, it "percolates" the cider through the spices. It flavors it very effectively, it's easy to remove the basket of spices, and then it keeps the cider hot without taking up space on the stove. :) I actually have a designated coffee urn for cider.

For adding a kick, I really like the dark spiced rum, letting guests add to taste.

I had hot cider spiked with port wine at a wine bar once and it was fantastic. Have no idea what the proportions were though.

Our family recipe (I think it's just from an old Betty Crocker) is
1 part cranberry juice or juice cocktail
3 parts apple cider
1/4 cup of brown sugar (or to taste)
1 lemon (sliced)
cinnamon sticks
whole cloves
simmer until your house smells awesome

i've experimented with spiking it a couple of times and i think the best i'd found was actually dumping in a nice amount of knob creek bourbon.

My recipe is using a better quality cider and put it in a slow cooker with vanilla flavored rum for about an hour on low. Tastes pretty fantastic on cold nights. For a higher alcohol content cook the cider and add the rum right before serving.