US Open's 'Honey Deuce' Cocktail Is a $10M Hit

Business Insider has anointed the "biggest star" of the US Open, and it's not a tennis player. Instead, it's the pricey signature drink served at the tournament, called the Honey Deuce. Details:

• The drink: It's a mix of Grey Goose vodka (a tournament sponsor), lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and honeydew melon balls (which look like tennis balls). The official recipe is here.
• The money: The drink costs $23, a price that has steadily risen since the cocktail was introduced at the tournament nearly two decades ago, per CNBC. It brought in more than $10 million last year, more than the combined purse money for the men's and women's champions ($7.2 million). But, hey, you get to keep the signature cup.

• Marketing, origin: CNN unpacks the marketing that helped the drink explode in popularity, one aspect being that it's sold only for the duration of the tournament. Back in 2006, Grey Goose was a new tournament sponsor looking for an easy-to-make recipe that would appeal on hot summer days. It seems that restaurateur and brand ambassador Nick Mautone saw honeydew melons at a farmers' market, and voila. "Immediately the thunderbolt went off and I said, 'Holy cow, these look just like tennis balls,'" Mautone tells Fox News. One key was finding a company that specialized in producing the little melon balls.
• Serena's in: Tennis great Serena Williams posted a social media video of herself trying her first Honey Deuce this year, now that she's retired as a player. "It's good," she says, suggesting an upgraded name to "Honey Ace."
• Alternative: Need a counter to all the Honey Deuce love? A piece at Club Leftist Tennis finds the drink to be "forced, overpriced, and kind of gross" and suggests allowing patrons to get a shot and a beer instead, perhaps called "Serve and Volley."

(More US Open Tennis stories.)