My boyfriend was entranced by the sound of calvados, an apple brandy, so we picked some up and decided to give it a go with the Star.

Upon further reflection (after the fact), I should have considered that this might not have been the best choice for an experiement, as the gin and grapefruit juice mixed with apple brandy could go very wrong.

Nevertheless, I ran with it.

1 oz gin
1 oz calvados
dash dry vermouth
dash grapefruit juice

Stir ingredients in mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and serve.

Post mixing, I discovered that this wasn’t the greatest first calvados experiment. The drink wasn’t bad, per se, but the vermouth flavor was overwhelming, leaving only a slightly alcoholic apple taste behind from the calvados.

If I try this again, I’ll definitely cut way back on the vermouth (I think ’smidge’ might work better than a ‘dash’).