The ‘Honey Deuce’—the legendary official cocktail of the US Open—is being loved by fans again this year.
Since 2006, attendees at New York’s Grand Slam event, held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, have quenched their thirst with the tournament’s signature boozy beverage—whose name is a playful nod to the fruit “honeydew” and the tennis score “deuce.”
With more nods to the sport, the drink, made with Grey Goose vodka, lemonade, and raspberry liqueur, is garnished with three honeydew balls, scooped to resemble mini tennis balls.
“The mini honeydew melons that look like tennis balls capture the eye and therefore, the imagination,” Nick Mautone, the drink’s creator, told Vogue in 2021. “It’s visually a fun thing to drink at a tennis match.”
Etched with all the U.S. Open men’s and women’s champions since 1968, the cup is a keepsake for fans to take home.
“We come here for this,” Trudy Potter, an attendee of the game, said of the cups last year while speaking to The New York Times.
Last year alone, the tournament’s famed cocktail brought in almost $10 million, with 450,000 Deuces poured at the 2023 U.S. Open—which is more than the combined $7.2 million awarded to the winners of the men’s and women’s tournaments.
The amount is unsurprising, considering the cocktail came in at a whopping $22 last year, which has now increased to $23. It’s the sixth price hike the drink has seen since 2012, according to Morning Brew, when it cost a comparatively modest $14.
But if making it to Flushing Queens just isn’t in the cards this year and you still want to sip something refreshing, you can make the Honey Deuce at home, thanks to Grey Goose.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 parts (1 ¼ oz) Grey Goose vodka
- 3 parts (3 oz) fresh lemonade
- 1/2 part (½ oz) Chambord black raspberry liqueur
- 3 honeydew melon balls for garnish
Directions:
- Chill a Collins glass or commemorative cup by placing it in the refrigerator, freezer, or filling it with ice water for 5 minutes.
- Once the glass is sufficiently chilled, fill it with ice.
- Measure and add vodka. Top with a measured amount of fresh lemonade. Measure and add raspberry liqueur.
- Garnish with a skewer of 1 or multiple frozen honeydew melon balls.