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The Grey Goose Honey Deuce has become so synonymous with the US Open that ordering one feels nearly as essential as watching an actual match. And apparently, we’re all very, very thirsty for it. More than a whopping 740,000 Honey Deuces were sold during the 2025 tournament alone, bringing the total to more than 3.5 million since 2011.
The cocktail dates back to 2006, when restaurateur Nick Mautone was tasked with creating a signature drink for the Open. Honeydew melon balls spotted at a farmers market sparked the idea, as, wouldn’t you know, they looked remarkably like tiny tennis balls. The finished drink combines Grey Goose vodka, lemonade and raspberry liqueur, topped with three of those now-iconic melon balls. Even the name gets in on the tennis theme, blending honeydew with “deuce,” the term for a 40-40 score.
Of course, like just about everything associated with attending the US Open these days, getting your hands on one isn’t exactly cheap. A Honey Deuce will set you back $23, although you do get to keep the collectible cup. But first you have to actually get through the gates. Yahoo Sports reported that the average US Open ticket sold for $346 this year, up from $196 in 2022, while average Louis Armstrong Stadium ticket prices jumped 52% from last year.
Now, the US Open is absolutely worth experiencing in person if the opportunity arises. But this is also New York, the best city in the world where you don’t necessarily need to be inside the stadium to feel like you’re following every forehand from the stands. We pack bars for the Knicks, commandeer tables for football games, and turn World Cup matches into full-blown ragers before noon. Tennis deserves the same treatment.
And if you can’t score a ticket to Flushing—or simply don’t feel like dropping hundreds of dollars before you’ve bought so much as a single beverage—you can still get your Honey Deuce fix. These NYC spots below are serving their own takes on the tournament staple this year, from actual cocktails to frozen riffs and even soft serve, with ingredients ranging from cantaloupe and gooseberry to melon liqueur and salted honey.
Whether you’re craving the actual flavor of a Honey Deuce or, you know, mostly craving the Instagram post that proves you participated in tennis season, consider this your unofficial off-court Honey Deuce crawl. Here’s where to find all five, what they cost, and what they taste like—no Arthur Ashe ticket required.
The Wall Street Hotel, Lounge on Pearl
88 Wall St, New York, NY 10005
The drink: Match Point
Price: $18
Head to the bottom of Manhattan and make Lounge on Pearl at The Wall Street Hotel a stop on your list. Walk in, grab one of the plush booths and order the Match Point, which is probably the closest to a classic cocktail experience on this list, just with a very tennis-season makeover.
The $18 drink mixes Grey Goose vodka with lychee, raspberry and lemongrass, with a lychee standing in for the requisite tennis ball. Raspberry comes through strongest, but it’s bright and refreshing rather than overly sweet, with the lemongrass giving it just enough of a lift. It’s an easy, very drinkable way to kick off the crawl—particularly since there are likely a few more alcoholic serves coming.
Unnecessary NYC
66 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002
The drink: Honey Deuce Soft Serve
Price: $11
The Lower East Side is home to Unnecessary NYC, which takes the Honey Deuce off the bar and puts it into a soft-serve machine. Its version mixes Grey Goose, raspberry, Calpico (a Japanese milk soda) and lemon, then tops the whole thing with honeydew melon balls for a cocktail-dessert hybrid that still feels very much like the drink it’s riffing on.
It comes in a relatively small cup, but that feels about right for a boozy pit stop rather than a full dessert. The honeydew is the star here, while the Calpico gives the soft serve a slightly tangy, creamy edge that makes it taste distinctly different from simply freezing a Honey Deuce. It’s light and arguably the most playful interpretation of the five while still immediately calling back to the original. And for one last tennis touch, there’s even a tiny dark chocolate racket tucked into the top.
Pro tip: A line was already forming before Unnecessary even opened when I went, so if this one is a must-visit for you, consider that your cue to get there early.
Dante West Village
551 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
The drink: Honey Deuce
Price: $20
Next up is Dante in the West Village, where there’s a very real chance you’ll have to wait in line even if it’s just two of you. If you’re only stopping in for cocktails, aim for the bar and spare yourself the whole song and dance of waiting for a table.
Their Honey Deuce goes decidedly greener than the original, mixing Grey Goose with melon liqueur, honeydew, pineapple, salted honey and San Pellegrino. It arrives as a grassy court color and, finally, in the actual Honey Deuce cup. The pineapple really announces itself here and gives the melon a fruitier, slightly tropical direction, while the salted honey keeps it from tasting one-note. Dante doesn’t skimp on the ice with massive cubes, so consider this your official notice to proceed carefully unless you’d like half your cocktail launched directly at your face.
And if you somehow finish yours too quickly, there’s an easy palate cleanser built right into the stop. Dante’s martini hour runs from 3 to 5pm, which feels like a perfectly reasonable intermission before returning to our regularly scheduled Honey Deuce programming.
Clemente Bar at Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010
The drink: Sour Love
Price: $26
Clemente Bar is tucked upstairs inside Eleven Madison Park, but don’t let the address send you home for a wardrobe change. Jeans and a T-shirt were perfectly acceptable once I made it upstairs, where the room is dark, sultry, and very easy to settle into for a post-work drink.
The Sour Love is also the furthest departure from the Honey Deuce itself, mixing Grey Goose with tomato gin, aloe, muskmelon liqueur, green tomato and watermelon juices clarified with coconut milk. With savory tomato and aloe front and center, it’s the kind of drink that asks you to pay a little more attention to what’s in the glass.
Pickled watermelon and honeydew on top are what give away the inspiration, but I’m not sure I would’ve clocked it as a Honey Deuce blind. It’s more of a polished, very grown-up spin on the stadium staple, which feels fitting for a cocktail served above one of the city’s most famously fancy dining rooms.
Bryant Park Grill
25 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018
The drink: Frozen Honey Deuce
Price: $23
If what you really want is the Honey Deuce experience without the Honey Deuce line at the US Open, Bryant Park Grill gets pretty damn close. Its frozen version sticks to the original formula (at the OG’s exact price) of Grey Goose, raspberry liqueur, lemonade and honeydew melon balls, right down to the signature cup.
And honestly, there’s something very satisfying about that. It tastes immediately familiar—tart lemonade, plenty of raspberry, and that unmistakable melon garnish—but the frozen texture makes it feel especially right for a late summer afternoon. Get a seat on the rooftop overlooking Bryant Park and, for a few minutes, you can almost convince yourself you’re drinking one courtside instead of 20 miles west of Flushing.