Honey Deuce, the U.S. Open's official drink, now has a T-shirt and hat to match
The USTA has introduced a Honey Deuce T-shirt, whose back has a picture of the drink as well as the recipe. Credit: Newsday/Neil Best
Noon was an hour away, but folks already were lining up to buy Honey Deuces, as they have for nearly two decades now.
It is the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open and its popularity seems to grow every year, to the tune of about $10 million in gross revenue, give or take a melon ball.
It features vodka, lemonade and raspberry liqueur, topped by three honeydew melon balls in the shape (and color) of tennis balls, over ice, served in a sturdy souvenir cup.
They are available at kiosks and bars all over the Open grounds, and they always are in demand, even with a price increase this year to $23 from $22.
But this tournament has brought a new development in the Deuce’s inexorable rise to celebrityhood: The U.S. Open star now has its own merchandise line.
The USTA has introduced a Honey Deuce T-shirt, whose back has a picture of the drink as well as the recipe to make it, and a Honey Deuce trucker hat.
The former costs $44, the latter $40. They’re popular.
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the second day of the two-week tournament, a group of young women approached one of the largest merchandise kiosks on site.
They inquired about the Honey Deuce shirt. They left emptyhanded. Why? One said that only extra-large sizes were left. Even then, there only were two.
Ninety minutes later, there were none.
A salesman working near the display model of the shirt marveled at the speed at which they had disappeared. He said most buyers were holding a Honey Deuce drink when making their purchase.
Mary Ryan, senior director of merchandise and licensing for the USTA, said that Honey Deuce items are available on the USTA’s website and that there will be more on-site as this week unfolds.
“They throw them out of the warehouse in the morning and then we sell through them, so we’re continually pulling them out of the warehouse,” she said. ”I don’t know how much more inventory I have to support it through the tournament.
“I’d love to hold back a bit just so we can have some for finals weekend. We want to make sure those folks also see what happened earlier.”
After the early run on shirts and hats wiped out supplies, it was far easier to find someone drinking a Honey Deuce than wearing a Honey Deuce.
By Tuesday afternoon, sightings of the shirt in the wild were rare.
Drew Brady of Brooklyn had one on. Where did he get it? He said a friend bought one during Fan Week last week and gave it to him before his visit to the Open. (A USTA spokesman said the shirt and hat were the two biggest-selling merchandise items during Fan Week.)
“I wondered, is it like wearing the rock concert shirt, like, it’s inappropriate to wear it if you’re going to see that show?” Brady said.
In the end, he decided to wear it. “It’s a very nice shirt,” he said. “The quality is good.”
Brady was holding an empty cup as he spoke. He was asked whether that was a Honey Deuce. “It was,” he said, emphasis on “was.”
The drink’s taste appeal is lost on some patrons, but its souvenir cup, which lists past winners of the tournament, is part of what makes it so popular.
People keep their own, and collect ones discarded by others.
When Newsday featured the Honey Deuce in 2012, there were about 65,000 sold at $14 each, up from 25,000 when it first was introduced in 2007 at a price of $12.
At the time, Daniel Zausner, CEO of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, called that “a staggering number.”
About 450,000 were sold last year, and it is impossible to walk more than five steps around the tennis center without seeing one in use.
Grey Goose vodka, a sponsor of the tournament, developed the formula, which is designed in part to be easy for bartenders to make in volume.
Brady’s friend, Boris Veysman, recalled last year being given a Honey Deuce lapel pin by a friend. The T-shirt seemed like the next step up. “It’s a sensation,” he said.
Ryan said the Honey Deuce pin’s success last year sparked the T-shirt and hat idea for this year.
“Boom, it’s gone,” she said of the pin sales. “We didn’t even get through the first week of the main draw. So it was, how do we build on that?”
The other hint of the potential for expanding the brand was people leaving the tennis center with stacks of souvenir cups in their hands.
“So, obviously, there was going to be some demand for the merchandise,” Ryan said. “Did we think it was going to be this great? Probably not.”
Ryan said the merchandise is just the latest offshoot of the popular drink.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s just a cocktail, but I think it’s fun . . . The consumer loves it.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
More tennis
