{"id":339423,"date":"2026-09-06T16:28:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T16:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/339423\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T16:28:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T16:28:27","slug":"how-the-honey-deuce-transcended-the-u-s-open-and-became-nycs-favorite-cocktail-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/339423\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Honey Deuce Transcended the U.S. Open and Became NYC’s Favorite Cocktail"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Every August, the U.S. Open<\/a> transforms Flushing Meadows into one of the city\u2019s most festive destinations, and for years, the cocktails that defined the tournament experience\u2014namely the Honey Deuce<\/a> and a more recent newcomer, the Ace Paloma<\/a>\u2014stayed largely within the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. If you wanted one, you had to be there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s changing as the tournament\u2019s signature cocktails are being served at bars, restaurants, and hotels across New York City<\/a> in a deliberate push to extend the U.S. Open experience beyond the stadium gates. The cocktail has even made its way to the city’s airports, with the Honey Deuce available at several restaurants and bars across JFK and LaGuardia, meaning you can extend the U.S. Open experience right until boarding. For cocktail lovers who would rather watch the matches from a rooftop bar in Meatpacking or a biergarten in Williamsburg with a Honey Deuce in hand, the options have never been better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think social media really helped push [the Honey Deuce] beyond being just a cocktail you order at the U.S. Open,\u201d says Nancy Santiago, beverage director at IGC Hospitality<\/a>, which oversees several popular New York hotspots, such as Refinery Rooftop and Vintage Green. \u201cOnce people started associating that instantly recognizable cup and melon garnish with being at the tournament, the drink became part of the overall experience. You see it in photos, on social media, and in people\u2019s hands throughout the stands\u2014it almost becomes an accessory to the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GreyGrey Goose<\/p>\n

A patron takes a photo of the Honey Deuce at Grey Goose\u2019s pop-up Grand Central.<\/p>\n

Stacy Saltiel, senior brand director at Grey Goose<\/a>, points out that the Honey Deuce was created nearly 20 years ago<\/a>, long before Instagram and TikTok became ubiquitous. So the drink wasn\u2019t designed to be social content. \u201cThat organic enthusiasm is really what transformed it from a tournament cocktail into a recognizable symbol of tennis and late summer in New York,\u201d Saltiel tells T&C.<\/p>\n

The Honey Deuce, the tournament\u2019s original signature drink, has been served at the Open since 2007 and has become one of the most photographed cocktails in the country during tournament season. The Ace Paloma<\/a>, made with Maestro Dobel Tequila, the Open\u2019s first-ever official tequila partner, debuted in 2023. \u201cJust as the U.S. Open has evolved into a cultural destination with its food scene, we saw, and continue to see, an opportunity to evolve the cocktail culture at the tournament,\u201d says Lander Otegui, executive vice president of marketing and innovation at Proximo Spirits, the beverage conglomerate that includes Dobel Tequila.<\/p>\n

He adds that as \u201cNew York\u2019s biggest sporting event,\u201d the experience should be able to be enjoyed by all New Yorkers<\/a>, whether they have tickets or not. \u201cWe like that Dobel Tequila can bring a piece of the U.S. Open experience to fans who can\u2019t make it to the grounds across bars and restaurants in New York City\u201d
<\/p>\n

\"Mo\u00ebtMo\u00ebt & Chandon<\/p>\n

The new Mo\u00ebt Serve cocktail.<\/p>\n

This year, a third specialty cocktail is joining the lineup: the Mo\u00ebt Serve<\/a>, a new drink debuting simultaneously at Arthur Ashe Stadium and at a select number of New York City venues, marking the first time the champagne house has had a signature tournament cocktail of its own. The debut reflects a broader strategy by the tournament\u2019s liquor brand partners to extend the U.S. Open’s footprint across the city, rather than keeping it contained to Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ultimate goal was to create a refreshed, innovative, yet approachable drink that could live seamlessly both on the tournament grounds and at well-loved destinations throughout New York City,\u201d Daniela Curiel, head of Mo\u00ebt & Chandon USA, tells T&C. Putting a new spin on canned cocktails, the Mo\u00ebt Serve is made with Mo\u00ebt Ice Imp\u00e9rial, the house\u2019s champagne specifically created to be served over ice, with fresh lime and served in a container inspired by the look of a tennis ball canister. \u201cThe U.S. Open has established rituals that fans know and love, but part of the excitement of the tournament is discovering what\u2019s new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoPark Lane New York<\/p>\n

An order of Honey Deuces and fries at the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

While the Mo\u00ebt Serve arrives pre-packaged and the Ace Paloma is straightforward enough to mix anywhere, the Honey Deuce has one non-negotiable: those three melon balls. That garnish requires real labor, so it\u2019s not just something you can stroll up and request from any bartender. For those who do have it on the menu, Santiago says the melon ball prep is treated like any other high-volume garnish challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cEstablish the expected sales, prep to those projections, and make sure there\u2019s enough ready for service without over-prepping and creating unnecessary waste,\u201d she explains. The timing also helps. \u201cIn New York, the last few weeks of summer tend to be a little slower for restaurants and bars, so our teams have the bandwidth to build that prep into their routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DaintreeDaintree LES<\/p>\n

An Ace Paloma served at Daintree\u2019s rooftop bar on Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/p>\n

At Dante<\/a>, which first developed its own riff on the drink in 2021 when the U.S. Open was played without spectators and the restaurant served as the only bar inside the quarantined tournament bubble, the solution is to prep three different melon varieties, watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, and flash-freeze them before service. \u201cAt all of our locations, locals and regulars now come in asking for it\u2014often before the first match is played and well after the finals have ended,\u201d Linden Pride, co-owner of Dante, tells T&C. \u201cIt has become a seasonal Dante tradition that our guests have come to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

There could be a fine line between exclusivity and accessibility, making it so ubiquitous that it loses the association that made it worth seeking out in the first place. But both Santiago and Pride push back on the idea that wider availability cheapens the experience of these specific cocktails. \u201cI actually think it does the opposite,\u201d Santiago says. \u201cTickets can be expensive and difficult to get, so not everyone who loves the tournament or the atmosphere surrounding it can attend in person. Being able to go to your neighborhood bar, watch the match with friends, and sip the same cocktail people are drinking at the tournament gives you a little piece of that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Play\"Video\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Rachel King (she\/her) is a news writer at\u00a0Town & Country. Before joining\u00a0T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at\u00a0Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in\u00a0Forbes,\u00a0Observer,\u00a0Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and\u00a0Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at\u00a0@rk.passport<\/a>.<\/p>\n