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The 5 Best Sammy Hagar Love Songs to Pair With Santo Cocktails on Valentine’s Day

Romantic tracks from the Red Rocker’s catalog that go down well with his line of spirits
(Courtesy of Santo Spirits)

Sammy Hagar is one of hard rock’s most successful frontmen of all time, from his solo career to his hitmaking stints with Van Halen, Montrose, and Chickenfoot. And though Hagar is famous for defiant anthems like “I Can’t Drive 55” and “Runaround,” he’s also a songwriter who knows how to wear his heart on his sleeve with emotional tracks like “Dreams” and “I’ve Done Everything For You.”

In 2019, Hagar co-founded Santo with chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri, a line of spirits that exemplifies the pair’s lust for life. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, here’s a look back at some of Hagar’s most enduring love songs, with recommendations of complementary cocktails featuring Santo Mezquila or Tequila.

The Redemption with Van Halen’s “Why Can’t This Be Love” (1986)

 

The first song Van Halen released with Sammy Hagar on vocals was also the biggest hit of his career, and the evocative “Why Can’t This Be Love” lyric finds Hagar pleading with a partner who doesn’t think that what they have is potentially a serious relationship. That makes the song a perfect match for The Redemption, the winner of the 2019 Santo Tequila Blanco Cocktail Competition. The Redemption gets its crimson shade from PAMA pomegranate liqueur and blood orange soda.

Fiery Fieri with “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” (1982)

 

The lead single from 1982’s Three Lock Box was Sammy Hagar’s highest charting solo hit was a song about “playing on the edge” with a wild relationship. And the drink that goes with that track would have to be Fiery Fieri, which mixes Santo Mezquila with the spice of Guy Fieri’s Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Australian Aromatic Bitters with a garnish of chipotle chili sugar on the rim.

Coconut Margarita with Van Halen’s “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” (1995)

“Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” was Van Halen’s last Top 40 hit and the biggest single from Hagar’s last full-length album with the band, 1995’s Balance. The mid-tempo track, in part an homage to Ray Charles’s 1962 hit recording of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” is a celebration of a love with staying power. And Santo’s Coconut Margarita matches the song’s sentiment with the pleasantly lingering aftertaste of coconut cream.

Passion Fruit & Charred Jalapeno Margarita with “Two Sides of Love” (1984)

The lead single from VOA, the Hagar album that also launched the iconic “I Can’t Drive 55,” is a song about being caught between the exhilaration of new love and the growing pains of a long-term relationship. And the drink that matches that clash of differing sensations is the Passion Fruit & Charred Jalapeno Margarita, which chases something sweet with a pepper’s heat.

Santo Revelation with Van Halen’s “Love Walks In” (1986)

The third single from Van Halen’s 5150 was actually the first song Sammy Hagar wrote with his new bandmates. “Love Walks In” sounds like a straightforward love song, but the line in the chorus referencing “some kind of alien” wasn’t a metaphor – Hagar’s lyrics were inspired by the times he claims he’s been contacted by extraterrestrials from another planet. Pair “Love Walks In” with the otherworldly glow of Santo Revelation, a cocktail that gets its golden hue from passion fruit nectar and ginger beer.

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