The truth about the US Open's famous $23 Honey Deuce co*cktail (2024)

The Honey Deuce co*cktail is synonymous with the US Open, but for $23 a drink, you and your wallet won't be at love-all by the end of match.

Luckily, eager mixologists have nailed the recipe at home - for a fraction of the cost.

The sweet pink-colored drink is made with Grey Goose vodka, raspberry liqueur and lemonade and garnished with three honeydew balls on a toothpick designed to look like tennis balls.

The fruity drink is a favorite of tennis since Grey Goose, a longtime sponsor of the US Open, started serving it at the Grand Slam tournament in 2007.

The famous recipe was created by mixologist and restaurateur Nick Mautone in 2006, who told Business Insider he was inspired to create the refreshing beverage after stopping at a farmers market inHampton Bays, New York.

The name is a mix of honeydew and the tennis term deuce - when a match is tied at 40-40 - and is served in a commemorative plastic cup.

Mautone, who was the Grey Goose ambassador at the time, was making a salad when inspiration for a summery drink struck.

'The "salad" included honeydew melon balls, blackberries, rosemary-citrus syrup, and a splash of vodka,' Mautone told the outlet, adding it was 'topped with sorbet.'

While preparing the salad, Mautone recalled realizing the melon balls resembled tennis balls - and knew he had to incorporate them into the beverage.

'I knew that was the garnish that had to go into the drink,' he enthused.

While the recipe has been simplified today to make it easier to make in larger quantities, mixologist Mautone revealed to Business Insider his original concoction was a little more complicated.

He explained it usedrosemary citrus, lemon juice instead of lemonade, seltzer, and blackberry cordial, rather than the simple three ingredients that are now used.

However, the melon balls have remained through all iterations.

'The honeydew melon balls were the nonnegotiable,' Mautone declared.

The photogenic drink was a hit, selling a record-high of 460,275 servings throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens in 2023, generating more than $10.1 million in sales.

On TikTok, tennis lovers and co*cktail enthusiasts are now creating the drink at home where it shakes out to be less than $10 a serving - depending on the sizes and brands of alcohol purchased.

'There's only three ingredients in this whole thing, so I'm going to need you to get really good lemonade,' creator Clara Piercesaid in a video while making it.

'Let me show you how to whip one of these up super easily and for a tremendous fraction of the price,' offered another co*cktail lover, while followers thanked them for sharing.

According to Grey Goose, more than 2.2 million Honey Deuce co*cktails have been sold since 2007.

The price of the popular Honey Deuce price has almost doubled since 2007. Starting at $11, it's jumped in price five times and even rose from $22 to $23 from last year.

Recently, tennis legend Serena Williams, 42, gave the co*cktail a try, to see if it's worth all the viral hype, and she was not disappointed.

In her TikTok video, Serena shared: 'So I'm at the US Open and I'm having the famous Honey Deuce drink, and everyone's like, "Have you ever had one?" and I'm like: "No, because I've always been playing."

'But I like my Honey Deuce with Cincoro and you guys know that I'm more of a tequila [girl].'

After taking a sip she looked pleasantly shocked by the great taste, and she said: 'Honey, that's not deuce - that's called honey ace. Let's rename it. It is good.'

She rolled her eyes while enjoying her sip, and added: 'Oh boy. Try it.'