You Only Need 3 Ingredients To Try The Unofficial Cocktail Of The US Open
How many sporting events have a signature drink? The Kentucky Derby has its mint julep and the other two Triple Crown races have cocktails, as well — the Preakness claims the Black-Eyed Susan while the Belmont Stakes boasts the Belmont Jewel. Still, March Madness, the World Series, and the Super Bowl seem to be all about beer. (No specific type, either, as witnessed by the many Super Bowl beer ads which have aired over the years.) The British tennis classic known as Wimbledon, though, has helped to popularize the Pimm's Cup and the U.S. Open, following suit, has adopted a drink of its own. The Honey Deuce, as this cocktail is called, will run you close to $25 if you buy it at the event (not far off from a beer at the Super Bowl, which can cost as much as $20). But if you're at home and watching tennis on TV, you can make your own for much, much cheaper.
The official Honey Deuce recipe from U.S. Open partner Grey Goose calls for 1¼ ounce of that company's product mixed with 3 ounces of lemonade and ½ ounce of raspberry liqueur. There's also a frozen version where you toss these same ingredients in a blender full of ice or an unsanctioned, budget version made by swapping the Grey Goose for Kirkland Signature's near-dupe (or any other non-premium vodka, if you're not a Costco cardholder).
So, where does the honey come in? Actually, it doesn't. The drink gets its name from the all-important garnish which consists of three balls of honeydew melon impaled on a cocktail pick.
The Honey Deuce was created specifically for the U.S. Open
Unlike the mint julep or the Pimm's Cup (an underrated cocktail people should order more often, especially if you enjoy the taste of cucumber), the Honey Deuce hasn't attained the status of a classic cocktail. It may never achieve this honor, since it's basically just a raspberry vodka lemonade and similar drinks have been around since the '90s. Still, even if the ingredients are hardly unique, the drink makes a clever association between the garnish, the tennis-themed name (deuce refers to a score of 40-40), and the event.
The Honey Deuce was commissioned by Grey Goose which began sponsoring the tournament back in 2006. The company asked Nick Mautone to come up with something tennis-related. Once he noticed that honeydew melons bear a vague resemblance to tennis balls, everything just fell into place. The Honey Deuce made its debut the following August. In addition to being sold at the tournament, it can also be found on various bar menus when the time the tournament is in full swing — especially in Queens.
No matter how basic the drink or steep the price, the Honey Deuce has remained a popular part of the U.S. Open over the years. In 2023, over 450,000 were sold even after a slight price increase, while sales for 2024 remained in the $10 million range. One perk of buying a Honey Deuce at the event is the cool souvenir glass. Some attendees resell these on eBay to recoup a few bucks. If you're watching from home, you could pick up a few for the full experience.