Honey Deuce Cocktail Recipe | Wine Enthusiast

By WineBottleMag
September 3, 2024
Cocktail Deuce Enthusiast Honey Recipe Wine
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“Honey, this is not a deuce—this is an ace.”

One sip of the U.S. Open’s signature drink, the Honey Deuce, and tennis icon Serena Williams was sold.

She’s far from alone. Celebrities, including Timothee Chalamet, Diplo, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Ratajokwski, have all been spotted ordering rounds, too.

On TikTok, there are over five million videos featuring the now-viral cocktail tagged #honeydeuce. A recent reel by @wishbonekitchen has racked up more than 38,000 likes and nearly 1,300 saves. Another one by @cocktail.couple boasts close to 27,800 likes and has been bookmarked almost 10,000 times.

All of the above has resulted in major real-world sales: In 2023, over 450,000 drinks were sold at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens during the tournament. It’s estimated over one million balls of honeydew melon were prepared for garnishes. It wasn’t enough. Bartenders kept running out of the tennis ball-shaped toppers.

The Consummate Summer Sipper

The appeal of the Honey Deuce—a combination of lemonade, vodka and raspberry liqueur—is obvious. It’s simple to make and easy to replicate. It’s fruity, tart, clean and bright, and goes down easy on a hot summer day.

The drink, named after the tennis term for a tied 40-40 score, was first invented in 2007, when hospitality consultant Nick Mautone (author of Classic Cocktails, Raising the Bar) was tasked with making a signature drink for the Grand Slam. His mission: To create a drink that’s memorable, but easy to make in a high-volume setting (meaning, no muddling, shaking or infusing).

On a trip to the farmers market, Mautone spotted some honeydew melons and was inspired by the shape. “They look exactly like tennis balls,” he told Vogue back in 2021.

He mixed Grey Goose vodka with lemonade and Chambord raspberry liqueur, then garnished it with three icy honeydew melon balls. Each drink was served in a commemorative plastic cup.

It blew up. According to Newsday, the line-up for the drink was snaking around the stadium well before the arena started serving them.

Despite its steep price tag—$23 per drink—sales for the cocktail topped $9.9 million in 2023. That’s far more than the total $7.2 million awarded to the winners of the men’s and women’s tournament.

Honey Deuce Express bars have popped up around the arena, and to meet the demand, draft taps have been installed to turn out Honey Deuces more quickly. Attendees of the U.S. Open can don a Honey Deuce hat (the t-shirt sold out quickly after release).

And the drink’s popularity has extended beyond the arena to New York City bars. Dante, the famed New York cocktail bar, has a riff on the tennis drink, made with Grey Goose vodka, Midori melon liqueur, honeydew, pineapple, salted honey and San Pellegrino. In NoHo, Jacs on Bond serves the Pear of Deuces: a pear- and yuzu-based version. Ray’s, Mr. Purple, Lawn Club, Broken Shaker and another 140 bars across the boroughs all serve the Honey Deuce as a special during the U.S. Open.

Thirsty drinkers can hunt down the nearest version via Grey Goose’s online tracker or order a canned version via DoorDash. Alternatively, you can make your own—no pricey tickets required.

Image Courtesy of Bacardi Limited