Any jackass can make cider:  (1) mash/squeeze the juice out of apples (2) let container of apple juice sit until it ferments.  It's that simple.  Apples have their own yeasts on them and they alone can ferment them.  That why if you find that grocery stores keep fresh, unpasteurized ciders on ice or refrigerated- so they won't ferment.

But, of course, the devil is in the details, and so there are some wonderful ciders and some that are nothing more than a waste of apples.  Cider well made is a luscious, golden potion which bitter-sweetly makes love to the tongue.  It's a friendly spirit.  If made with care and well balanced, a cider leaves a smile on the lips it has passed.

There are ciders for warm days and those heartier ones for cold weather.  It's amazing that so simple a creation is relatively new to the alcohol annals of history.   According to Leslie Dunkling's swell book, The Guinness Drinking Companion (Lyons & Burford: New York, NY, 1992), cider was unknown to England until the Middle Ages and was perhaps brought there during the Norman Conquest.  Thereafter cider migrated to America with the early settlers and was guzzled copiously by New Englanders, even giving rise to some weird rituals.  Dunkling notes:

"William Hone relates in his Every-day Book that within living memory English farmers would go to their orchard on Twelfth Night with a pitcher of cider.  There they would circle one of the best trees, toasting it and wishing it prosperity.  Whatever remained in the pitcher would then be 'given' to the tree, or to the hamadryad, the tree-god, that dwelt within it."

Warning: Don't let the taste fool you- ciders can be very high in alcohol content.  Check the alcohol content before deciding how much you will consume.

Woodpecker English Cider (4.2% Alcohol, $1.50/12 ounce bottle)
Don't let the pale champagne color of this cider fool you into thinking it's not worth the bother.  Woodpecker is one of the more understated ciders in taste.  However, if you are looking for a light, champagne-like cider, I assure you that when finished with the first, you will feel like you can stomach another.  Woodpecker is a teaser as to whether it is distinctly sour or sweet.  A room full of ten people may come to a hung jury on that verdict; some may be too confused to vote.  There is nothing heavy or solid about this cider.  It's all flowers, perfume, and of course apples.  You'll find me drinking it when I know I'll be out drinking for some time and I need a pacing drink. (Rating ***1/2)

Original Sin Hard Cider  (6% Alcohol, $1.50/12 ounce bottle)
The first thing you'll notice in this cider is the contrasting sweet and sour taste: natural fruit sugars from a tart apple.  Next, your tongue will taste the cider opening up into a lightly carbonated bouquet in your mouth.  It's an interesting combination that I like to experience in a drink.  The only downside is that the transition between the two stages is a bit hasty.  The color is that of a beautiful, golden apple juice.  Not a bad choice for those who like a tart cider. (Rating ***)

Cider Jack (5.5% Alcohol, $1.50/12 ounce bottle)
"Where the hell is it?"  Look a good reviewer, I swirled a bit of Cider Jack's Hard Core Cider in a tasting glass.  I couldn't find the cascade, the running sheet of fluid that should slowly fall back to the glass.  My conclusion is that either it evaporates into thin air or it is incredibly thin.  Unfortunately, the taste doesn't win it any prizes either.  Have you ever had something so SWEET that it made you pucker?  Well, if that's your thing, then you'll like this cider.  The sickly sweet aroma should be your first hint to its saccharin taste.  It tastes like the Cider Jack people forgot that apples have their own sugar, and decided to add Sweet-N-Low to their mashed up apples.  This one won't even win on recommendations for after dinner dessert recommendations.  (Rating *1/2)