AARP Hearing Center
Leah Steiger
Sammy Hagar may be best known as the former front man of hard-rock band Van Halen, but he’s also the ultimate party host. “When I came onstage, I used to say, ‘This isn’t a concert; this is an event. This is a party,’ ” says Hagar, 74. He’s taken that approach to heart with his new cocktail bartending book, Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker (March 2022). “I know how to throw a pretty good party. And I thought, I want to share this with people.”
Hagar is no stranger to making strong cocktails: He owns the restaurant/bar chain Cabo Wabo Cantina and two alcohol lines — Sammy's Beach Bar Rum and Santo Spirits tequila.
Skyhorse Publishing and Culinary Book Creations
Hagar’s partner for the venture was James O. Fraioli, a James Beard Award–winning author who has written numerous cookbooks.
Fraioli recalls being at Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico a few years ago and enjoying the drinks so much that he had a light bulb moment and realized that Hagar needed his own cocktail cookbook. It was hard to pin down the busy musician, who was either touring or cutting an album, until the pandemic took hold and he suddenly found himself at home with more free time.
The collaboration between the two authors proved successful. “[James] narrowed down every drink and measured it out perfectly until it was right. Because I just wing it. Every time I make a cocktail, it’s a little bit different,” says Hagar. “I say, ‘Oh, shoot I put too much lime in it. Oh, didn’t put enough tequila.’ And he just narrowed it down to where it’s like science.”
Fraoili worked with a team of Hagar’s crew from across his restaurants and spirits brands to develop recipes. Hagar, though, was heavily involved, reviewing each beverage that went into the book (and happily testing them out). He also shared ideas along the way. “I think it was Christmas at one point, and I got a text from him at 10 o’clock in the evening of, ‘Oh, we got to have this one in the book. I just made this drink. It has a lot of these special ingredients.,’ ” Fraoili recalls of the time that Hagar texted him about the Red Saint, a tropical holiday tipple. With a Christmas-appropriate red hue, the drink is a combination of tequila, rum, lime juice, orange liqueur and tangerine juice; a cinnamon sugar rim adds flair.
The book is divided into sections that represent places that Hagar has lived or spent significant time in, including Las Vegas, Mexico, Hollywood and Hawaii. “It’s really neat to take readers on these four different locations with different styles, because as you go through the book, Hawaii is very rum-based, Mexico is very tequila-based, Vegas is a compilation of everything, and so is Hollywood,” Fraoili says. “So it was really neat to embrace these four unique lifestyles, which are very reflective of Sammy.”
“Parties just don’t happen. And so this book tells you how to throw the party and how to enjoy yourself at it.”
Along with the recipes, Hagar shares tidbits about his time in these places and moments with friends. For example, he pays tribute to his departed friend Vinnie Paul, the former drummer of Pantera, with an eponymous cocktail of tequila, ancho reyes ancho chile liqueur, lime and grapefruit juices, and simple syrup. Sip it while listening to Pantera’s “Mouth of War.”
It’s no surprise that music plays a big role in Hagar’s book. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is happy to make recommendations of songs to pair with his creative cocktails. In the “Tinseltown Twists” section, Hagar recounts his time in Hollywood and suggests that the reader play tunes by Los Angeles bands like Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against the Machine and (of course) Van Halen. In the Hawaii part, he highlights the gentle tunes of Hawaiian native Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.
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