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Can't get to the U.S. Open? You can still get 'Honey Deuces' throughout NYC
By
Paige Oamek
Published Aug 30, 2025
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Cora Veltman/Sportico via Getty Images
By
Paige Oamek
Published Aug 30, 2025
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As the summer wanes, some New Yorkers trade in their Nutcrackers for Honey Deuces, the traditional cocktail of the U.S. Open.
But if you can’t get your hands on tickets, you can at least get your lips on an unofficial Honey Deuce somewhere in the city.
The cocktail — which sells for $23 in commemorative cups at the U.S. Open — has been a fan favorite for years. According to sports business analyst Joe Pompliano, the tournament sold more than 550,000 Honey Deuce cocktails last year raking in more than $12 million.
But recently many area bars have put their own spin on the tennis-centric cordial.
Can't get a Honey Deuce? Try a 'Homey Deuce' from the comfort of your kitchen
Here is the recipe, care of Grey Goose:
1 ¼ oz vodka
3 oz lemonade
½ oz raspberry liqueur
3 honeydew melon balls
Fill a chilled highball glass with cubed ice and add Vodka. Top with the lemonade and raspberry liqueur and stir.
Garnish with a skewer of frozen honeydew melon balls. We recommend dunking those balls as soon as the cocktail is served to gather up the flavors (read: alcohol).
Our mixology economists at Gothamist estimate a 'Homey Deuce' will cost you between $3.50 and $4 per cocktail — an 83% savings from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
According to Grey Goose, the official sponsor, the beverage is made with vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and three scooped honeydew melon balls, which resemble tennis balls. A “deuce” in tennis parlance refers to when two players are tied at 40.
You may have missed the chance to score a mini-version of the cocktail at Grand Central Station, but bars around the city are concocting their own “balled melon tennis cocktail beverage.”
That includes Ray’s Bar in Greenpoint, who told Gothamist they are whipping them up for $16 at that location.
“Why pay $23 at the stadium when you can sip it here for $14?” Nobody’s Perfect, a new bar in Hell’s Kitchen advertised on Instagram. They’re also offering the drinks for $10 during happy hour. Their sister bar, Somebody’s Darling, will sell them to you for $13.
Jack Howard of Sunset Park, a frequenter of the US Open, says he has enough commemorative cups to use as his everyday drinking glasses — and would be interested in trying the cocktail outside of tournament grounds.
“I’m not much of a bar guy,” said Howard. “But trying one there that's carefully crafted from a seasoned mixologist rather than one frantically poured into your cup by the stand employee I think could be a nice comparison.”
You can also grab the cocktail at Keith McNally’s Balthazar through the end of the tournament, and plenty of hotel bars around the city including Portrait Bar in The Fifth Avenue Hotel and La Marchande at The Wall Street Hotel, who calls theirs the “Matchpoint,” made with gooseberry, cantaloupe, lime, and Cocchi Americano.
If beachside is more your speed than courtside the Rockaway Hotel is also offering a version of the cocktail.
If you are feeling fancy, you can also stop by the five-star Baccarat Hotel for a $225 per person “Crystal Courtside Dining” experience at their ping pong table — which includes two cocktails.
For a more relaxed vibe, stop by LBGT hangouts Singers in Brooklyn or Cubbyhole in the West Village to try their non-copyright infringing “Popular Luxury French Vodka & Balled Melon Tennis Cocktail Beverage” and watch the games.
Or better yet, see our factbox to the right to make your own at home.
Tagged
food
queens
sports
Paige Oamek
Paige Oamek is a reporter on Gothamist & WNYC's day-of general assignment desk.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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