The Scissortail Sunset: Our Signature Drink and How to Make It at Home

Every celebration deserves a drink that everyone can hold, and ours is the Scissortail Sunset. We named it for the sunsets you'll only find standing in the tall grass fields at Hidden Oaks, and we built it for the citrus lovers so that no guest of yours ever has to settle for a glass of plain juice.

"It's about championing a drink for everyone and not letting anyone feel left out," says Scissortail founder Patrick Wilson. When you serve the Scissortail Sunset at your event, that is exactly what your non-drinking guests feel: included, not overlooked.

The Recipe

The Scissortail Sunset (batch of 15)

• 22.5 oz blood orange and navel orange juice blend
• 11.25 oz fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
• 11.25 oz honey syrup (1 cup honey dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water)
• 30 dashes aromatic bitters
• About 1.5 oz blood orange Italian soda to top each cup at the pour
• Orange wheel for garnish

Method:

1. Stir the orange juice blend, lemon juice, honey syrup, and aromatic bitters together in a dispenser
2. Serve over ice
3. Top each cup with about 1.5 oz blood orange Italian soda at the pour
4. Garnish with an orange wheel

Why You'll Love It

This drink earns its place on your menu for three reasons:

• It looks intentional. The deep Oklahoma-sunset color comes from blood orange juice and aromatic bitters, not food coloring, and it glows like the sky over the tall grass at Hidden Oaks. In your photos, it reads as a real cocktail, never an afterthought.
• It tastes complete. Bright blood-orange citrus, balanced with honey and rounded by aromatic bitters, gives you the same depth you would expect from a well-made cocktail. This is a citrus-lover's drink, and your guests won't feel like anything is missing.
• It has sparkle. The blood orange Italian soda brings the fizz and the mouthfeel that flat mocktails always lack, so it drinks like a cocktail rather than a soft drink.

Make It Your Own

The Spicy Scissortail: Add a few dashes of chili bitters to the batch. The gentle heat plays beautifully against the citrus if your crowd likes a little kick.

The Herbal Scissortail: Stir 3 or 4 fresh basil leaves into each cup. The basil and blood orange pairing feels surprisingly elegant for a garden party.

The Frozen Scissortail: Blend the base with ice for a slushie version, perfect when your event lands in the middle of an Oklahoma July.

The Scissortail Spritz: Swap the blood orange Italian soda for sparkling water and add 0.5 oz elderflower syrup for a lighter, more floral pour.

At Your Event

We pour the Scissortail Sunset at every Scissortail Bartending event. It is the first thing we hand to a guest who isn't sure what to order, and it is the one that wins over the people who think they don't like mocktails.

If you are hosting younger guests or a crowd that includes plenty of non-drinkers, we love pairing it with a dirty soda station. "Dirty sodas are having a real moment, and guests light up when they see one," Patrick notes, and together the two make sure everyone at your party has a beautiful, craft-quality drink in hand, no matter their age or preference.

The reaction we hear most often: "Wait, this doesn't have alcohol? Really?"

That is the whole point. As Patrick puts it, "It's not about the alcohol or the drink, it's all about the people." Your people deserve to feel that way too.