Editor\u2019s note: This story was originally published in 2024.<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2014 It takes Oscar Pe\u00f1a about 12 minutes each day to commute from his home in the Bronx to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the U.S. Open.<\/a><\/p>\n Much more of a grind is the 14 hours he spends each day there, leading a team that churns out thousands upon thousands of the signature cocktail of the tournament, the Honey Deuce.<\/p>\n Since 2008, Pe\u00f1a has been the lead supervisor of the Grey Goose Bar in the food village, a centrally located stand between Louis Armstrong Stadium and Arthur Ashe Stadium that each day sees lines every bit as long as those queueing for the show courts.<\/p>\n The stand serves about 5,000 Honey Deuces each day, with the highest demand coming just ahead of night sessions of play. \u201cThroughout the day, the supplies are replenished,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cBut the morning paves the way for the rest of the day\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n The ingredients for the drink<\/a> are relatively well known:\u00a0 1 1\/4 ounces of vodka, 3 ounces of lemonade and a half-ounce of raspberry liqueur. It\u2019s essentially a spiked lemonade<\/a> and the drink\u2019s aesthetic is heightened with three small honeydew melon balls skewered by a cocktail pick, like little fruity tennis balls. The name combines \u201choneydew\u201d and \u201cdeuce,\u201d the nickname for a game score of 40-40.<\/p>\n Why are the US Open courts blue?<\/p>\n Tifo Sports<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for tennis fans to miss the marketing push for the drink that began in 2007, when it became the signature cocktail of the tournament. Since then, the push to serve more drinks and generate more business has been unmistakable.<\/p>\n Many bars around the tennis center\u2019s grounds serve the Honey Deuce among other beverages. But the wild demand for the drink and the souvenir highball cup it comes in has led event organizers to create stands that serve nothing but Honey Deuces. The frozen version is a sleeper hit, with a slushy texture that is even more drinkable.<\/p>\n Last year, approximately 740,000 Honey Deuces were sold, according to the tournament. At $23 per drink, that\u2019s around $17.2 million in sales. In 2024, the drink\u2019s price was raised by a dollar from $22, the sixth time the price had gone up<\/a> in the previous 12 years, but it has now held steady at $23 for two consecutive years, while still outpacing inflation in that time.<\/p>\n Since 2024, the cocktails have also been served much faster than they were before. For that year, a draft system was installed that took away the need for bartenders to measure each ingredient individually. Drinks take just 12 seconds to make, Pe\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n Nick Mautone, a mixologist and hospitality expert with more than 40 years of experience, is the creator of the Honey Deuce. The idea, nearly 20 years ago, derived from a fruit salad combination he concocted after a stop at a farmer\u2019s market before heading to Long Island to prepare for a dinner party he was hosting.<\/p>\n \u201cI made an atypical salad, if you will,\u201d Mautone said. \u201cHoneydew melon balls with raspberry citrus syrup and blackberries. It was sort of a quasi-dessert sorbet.\u201d<\/p>\n He was already thinking about a U.S. Open drink because of his relationship with the tournament as a brand ambassador for Grey Goose, which asked him to create a signature drink after it became a U.S. Open beverage sponsor in 2006.<\/p>\n Mautone found the resemblance of the honeydew balls to tennis balls too good to pass up.<\/p>\n In drink form, the result was light enough to counter the heat at the tournament in late August and early September, with a fitting garnish for tennis fans, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become one of the more Instagram-worthy cocktails,\u201d Mautone said.<\/p>\n The logistics for delivering so many of the drinks each day are complex . Once the night session concludes, an overnight crew drops supplies at each bar and cart, including the souvenir cups, vodka, lemonade and ice.<\/p>\n Studley calls it a \u201c24-hour operation.\u201d Even the melon balls have their own space \u2014 the \u201cmelon balling room,\u201d where they are skewered and prepared to drop into the cocktails.<\/p>\n Pe\u00f1a describes the process as going into \u201cpreparation mode.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sets the tone,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cIt\u2019s like playing point guard or quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n The popularity of the Honey Deuce is still rising with several signature cocktails associated with the biggest spectacles in sports. The mint julep has more than 100 years of history with the Kentucky Derby. The Pimm\u2019s Cup has more than 50 years of being associated with the signature cocktail of Wimbledon.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a regular sight during night sessions on Ashe to see celebrities toting Honey Deuces. Selfies with the drink are common on social media.<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/3c6I3lfG9o<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tennis GIFs \ud83c\udfbe\ud83c\udfa5 (@tennis_gifs) September 1, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n
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