In the two decades since the Honey Deuce first debuted at the US Open, the drink has arguably become even more of a draw than the game itself. Tennis fans miss entire sets while standing in line for the cocktail, while others stack souvenir cups to show off how many combinations of Grey Goose vodka, lemonade, and raspberry liqueur they’ve consumed that afternoon.
But this year, a fresh tennis-themed drink is vying to dethrone the tournament’s defending champion at the bar. The US Open’s newest cocktail is called the Moët Serve and it’s a simple combination of bubbles provided by Moët & Chandon, the official Champagne of the event, a squeeze of lime, and ice.
The specs might not sound like much. But served in a collectible cup that looks like a tennis ball canister with three lime wheel garnishes stacked up to resemble tennis balls, it precisely follows the formula for iconic sporting event drinks like the Honey Deuce and Pimm’s Cup so it will surely appear on your Instagram feed a lot over the next few weeks.
The drink uses Moët Ice Impérial, a bottle that was released by the brand in 2010 as the first Champagne designed to be served with ice. Clocking in with a dosage of 45 grams/liter, the bubbles fall solidly into demi-sec territory, which is typically considered quite sweet — especially compared to the brand’s flagship bottle, Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial, which uses a dosage of 7 grams/liter. The increased sugar dials up the fruity notes already present in the wine and adds sweetness that could be considered cloying in most contexts. But in this case, when the bubbles cascade over cubes of ice, the intensity levels out.
While the cocktail is by no means complex, neither is its predecessor. The Honey Deuce is a simple vodka lemonade at its core, and with most iterations using big-brand bottled lemonades, it can also be quite sugary.
Instead of going for artisanal ingredients or ambitious technique, the Honey Deuce aimed to capture the zeitgeist with a garnish of three scoops of honeydew melon that look like tennis balls perched on top of the glass, and it clearly worked. Last year, the three-week tournament sold more than 738,000 Honey Deuces and raked in $17 million, a 32 percent year-over-year increase.
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With three lime wheels pressed up against the side of the canister-shaped cup, the Moët Serve also leans on its photo-worthy garnish, which is no-doubt compelling to a certain set of tournament goers. Plus, like the Honey Deuce, Moët’s signature drink will also be available beyond the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds at select locations throughout New York City, including Dante, Electric Lemon, and The St. Regis New York.
Though the Moët Serve might be a worthy competitor, the Honey Deuce still has a clear step up in maintaining its title as the most iconic drink of the event. First of all, there’s no denying home court advantage. The US Open is clear Honey Deuce territory, and it has widened its domain beyond the court as well, so much so that it feels like most bars across NYC offer their own take on the Honey Deuce during the tournament. It’s become so much of a status symbol, it’s hard for many fans to imagine going to a match without snapping a pic of their Honey Deuce as proof they were there.
The other obstacle the Moët Serve will no doubt encounter is its lofty price tag. At $23, the Honey Deuce was already considered a splurge for attendees, but the Moët Serve will be available for $32 — a steep increase, even by stadium standards. It’s unclear how many people are willing to shell out $9 more for a newcomer, even if it is Champagne-based.
So while the Honey Deuce is entering the tournament as the top seeded drink, the Moët Serve’s simplicity and eye-catching garnish could make it the dark horse to win the major this year. Though, it’d be a real upset.
