Frances Tiafoe <\/a>said of the crowd in 2023. <\/p>\nThe Honey Deuce has long dominated the US Open. Annie Wermiel\/NY Post<\/p>\n
Last year, a record 556,000 Honey Deuce cocktails \u2014 vodka, lemonade, and raspberry liquor; topped with honeydew cut like mini tennis balls; and served in a keepsake cup printed \u2014 were sold at the tournament, bringing in nearly $13 million.<\/p>\n
Its most clear competitor debuting is the Watermelon Slice, created by IHG Hotels & Resorts and featuring Champagne, elderflower liquor, fresh watermelon juice and lime. It\u2019s served in a fluorescent yellow glass shaped like a tennis ball and topped with a watermelon wedge \u2014 for just $39. By comparison, the $23 Honey Deuce is a steal.<\/p>\n
Other drinks debuting this year include fresh types of espresso martinis from Lavazza and Moet Mimosas, for those people who don\u2019t want to drink hard liquor at 10 am when gates open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ace Paloma, first introduced in 2023, will be making a return, as will Aperol Spritzes and two margaritas Dobel Tequila created last year with Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka.<\/p>\n
Not all tennis fans are cheering for the abundance of options.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese other cocktails are for sure copycating,\u201d said Zach Miller, 39, who lives in Queens, works for the Trucking Association of New York and served Honey Deuces at his wedding earlier this year. \u201cI don\u2019t begrudge them for trying to get on the bandwagon \u2026 but I am going to remain loyal,\u201d <\/p>\n
The Watermelon Slice is one of many new cocktails at the tennis tournament this year. IHG<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cIt\u2019s like the Aston Martin DB5 is the James Bond car, and you\u2019ve had all these James Bond movies, and he\u2019s had all these other cars, and it doesn\u2019t matter because the DB5 from Goldfinger is the James Bond car. The Honey Deuce is the DB5.\u201d<\/p>\n
His wife, Jill Rafson, 44, an artistic director of a theater company, plans on branching out. \u201cI am going to dabble,\u201d she said. \u201cThe neon cup with the watermelon, that sounds very much up my alley.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tournament officially started Monday with Fan Week and Mixed Doubles. (Singles matches start Sunday.) Tennis lovers who have already made the pilgrimage to Flushing Meadows say they\u2019ve been shocked by all the drinks on offer.<\/p>\n
The Moet Mimosa is another new cocktail on the scene. Moet & Chandon<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised,\u201d said Charly HIll, 23, a sports content creator who lives in Brooklyn. \u201cI only expected the Honey Deuces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clarice Bell, a 21-year-old tennis professional at a country club on Long Island, was attending the US Open for the first time since being of legal drinking age. She welcomed the options. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think tennis can only be made better with a couple of refreshments,\u201d she said, though she took issue with the Watermelon Slice\u2019s $39 price tag. Even with the souvenir cup, she said, \u201cit\u2019s still not worth it.\u201d <\/p>\n
After 19 years of dominating the tournament, Grey Goose isn\u2019t sweating the newcomers but rather opting to be flattered by those inching in on its courts. <\/p>\n
Lavazza has expanded its drink offerings. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Grey Goose Honey Deuce has set the standard for nearly two decades, and others wanting to follow only reinforces its status as an icon,\u201d said Aleco Azqueta, the brand\u2019s vice president of marketing. \u201cWe see it as the ultimate compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some fans think more variety might mean less binge drinking<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are options for people, maybe the lines won\u2019t be so long, and you won\u2019t have to buy as many Honey Deuces as you can possibly carry back to your seat at once,\u201d Rafson said. \u201cMaybe it will spread things out a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US Open has gotten increasingly raucous in recent years. SARAH YENESEL\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Her husband, Miller, however, hopes she is wrong. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe US Open is the end of the summer party, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want that to change.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year at the US Open, the top seed is being challenged \u2014 and we\u2019re not talking about…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":159466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[12080,8364,1165,4413,62,1464,67,132,68,20886,22644],"class_list":{"0":"post-159465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-cocktails","9":"tag-food-drink","10":"tag-lifestyle","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tennis","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-us-open-tennis","18":"tag-vodka"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115057715033966129","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}