US Open’s $10 Million Honey Deuce Cocktail: Recipe, Ingredients and Origin

While the main appeal of attending a live sporting event is watching the action in person, there’s more at play than simply spectating. Whether you’re eating a Dodger Dog in Los Angeles or eating some strawberries and cream while sipping a Pimm’s Cup at Wimbledon, food and drink are part of the show. Think about it; peanuts and Cracker Jack are even immortalized in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

The standard concessions are available at the US Open, but there are some more exclusive options. This is a Grand Slam taking place in New York City, after all. When tennis’ biggest stars come to the Big Apple, know that the culinary stops are going to be pulled out.

And the star of this year’s tournament—at least off the court—is the Honey Deuce. While the beverage isn’t new to Queens, it has reached a new level of virality this summer.

With that in mind, let’s break things down a bit further.

What Is the US Open’s Honey Deuce?

You’ve probably caught a glimpse of the Honey Deuce on either TV or social media. Maybe that has prompted you to wonder what the drink actually entails.

Well, the beverage, which is the official drink of the US Open, isn’t that complicated to make. Even when you include garnishes, it only contains five components:

• Vodka (the official US Open version specifies Grey Goose)
• Lemonade
• Raspberry liquor
• Honeydew balls
• Ice

And, if you order one at the Billie Jean King Tennis National Tennis Center, it will also come in a souvenir glass. There’s also the matter of the $23 price tag, but that comes with the territory when you’re at a sporting event.

Where Did the Cocktail Originate?

Now that you know what the Honey Deuce is, you may be wondering how the cocktail came to be. Thankfully for curious tennis fans, we do know the back story.

“Back in 2006 I was working as the Grey Goose Brand Ambassador,” Honey Deuce creator Nick Mautone told Newsweek via email. “In that role I worked on many seasonal and event-based signature cocktails for the brand. GG was becoming a beverage sponsor of the US Open and asked me to create a cocktail. We had a meeting with the brand managers and others to discuss the drink and then I left to head home and begin working.”

En route, though, inspiration struck.

“While driving to my house in Hampton Bays, [Long Island], I stopped at a farm stand to pick up some ingredients for dinner as I was having guests for the weekend,” Mautone added. “Included in that shop were honeydew melons, blackberries and rosemary for a summer dessert salad that I make. The ‘salad’ includes honeydew melon balls, blackberries, rosemary-citrus syrup and a splash of vodka, and topped with sorbet. While making the melon balls lightning struck—the melon balls looked just like tennis balls—and I knew that was the garnish that had to go into the drink!”

The Honey Deuce as we know it didn’t simply appear, though. Mautone had some other versions of the drink that mirrored the salad more closely, but practical considerations had to enter the picture.

“We knew that the first iterations were too complex for a large format, high volume, outdoor event,” he said. “Therefore, we cut back on the complexity and happily settled on the current recipe. The honeydew melon balls were the non-negotiable.”

And that conviction paid off. The drink was an immediate hit, and the trend has only kept up in subsequent years. These days, it’s simply a part of the US Open scene. And that success hasn’t been lost on its creator.

“For me the Honey Deuce reaching such an iconic status and becoming such a cultural phenomenon has been super fun and exciting,” Mautone reflected. “I have friends texting and emailing every day with their pictures from the Open and laugh as I hear how many signature cups people are collecting. Gotta love it. Watching the pictures flow on Instagram has been amazing. I love seeing people hoisting the melon balls and laughing as they take selfies! Hearing the number of cocktails sold each year has me simply flabbergasted.”

How to Make a Honey Deuce at Home

Let’s say that you want to try the Honey Deuce but can’t make it out to Queens. In that case, making the drink yourself is an alternative option, especially if you’re watching some tennis on TV.

We’ve already looked at the ingredients, but how does the US Open’s signature drink actually come together? Grey Goose provides a step-by-step recipe:

• Fill a highball glass with ice and 1 and ¼ ounces of vodka.
• Top with three ounces of lemonade and a ½ ounce of raspberry liquor.
• Garnish with a skewer of frozen honeydew balls.

The Honey Deuce Is a Major Moneymaker

Remember how we touched on the Honey Deuce’s ever-rising price tag? Well, as you might expect, that, combined with the drink’s popularity, makes it a real moneymaker.

According to Grey Goose’s FAQs, more than 450,000 Honey Deuces were sold at the 2023 US Open, which equated to $9.9 million. Even if you bump a dollar off the current price to bring things back down to last year’s value, that’s still a pretty penny.

And given the cocktail’s popularity, it’s quite possible that this year’s sales will spike even higher.

Newsweek has reached out to the US Open via the contact form on the event website seeking comment on this year’s sales expectations.

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The Honey Deuce at the U.S. Open is the best cocktail in sports — and the sales back it up.

2023 U.S. Open Sales
450,000 Honey Deuces
x $22 each
————
= $9.9 million

That’s incredible. pic.twitter.com/gbMnPV72Gd

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) August 26, 2024