Why the U.S. Open Is Truly All Concerning the Drinks

Probably the most stylish accent in New York Metropolis round Labor Day is a pink-hued, honeydew ball-topped cocktail. The drink is the enduring Honey Deuce, a $23 vodka lemonade bought by the a whole bunch of hundreds on the U.S. Open, the tennis Grand Slam that takes place in Queens, New York, on the finish of each summer season. 

Whereas followers of the U.S. Open actually come for the tennis, drinks have change into one other primary occasion. Seven of the 25 official companions of the Grand Slam are beverage manufacturers and drinks-based experiences have change into part of the leisure. Gray Goose bought practically half 1,000,000 Honey Deuce cocktails through the 2023 U.S. Open and there have been a plethora of cocktail options, from occasion newcomer Dobel Tequila’s Paloma cocktail to a basic Aperol Spritz. 

However how did tennis, a sport the place followers are notoriously requested to remain quiet and of their seats and tomfoolery is chastised on the jumbotron, change into one of many booziest sports activities within the enterprise?

It began with water and beer

In 1989 Evian turned the official water sponsor of the U.S. Open and has been main the cost in beverage-centric partnerships for the occasion ever since. Evian’s success at positioning their water alongside the prosperous market usually related to the game served as an inspiration for partnerships to come back. 

“Within the mid 1990’s Evian Pure Spring Water was the bottled water within the U.S.,” says Teresa Saputo-Crerend, who served as advertising companies director to Evian Pure Spring Water from 1995–2000. “The elegant 750ml glass bottle was a staple on the most talked about eating places in New York and it was the water of selection for standard celebrities. Because the model was an icon of trend, health and tradition, partnering with the best tennis occasion within the biggest metropolis on the earth made clear sense.” 

Apart from being the one water model supplied for buy on-site, Evian labored product placement into their contract in a number of methods. Bottles are positioned in branded coolers on the court docket, tucked into tennis baggage, and each participant should have a branded water bottle in entrance of them throughout press conferences. “The [press conference] clause appears to have remained and has clearly paid off in at this time’s age of viral media,” says Saputo-Crerend.  

Evian’s savvy product placement within the early years helped garner exponentially extra consideration to their model because the occasion has grown. The size of at this time’s Open is drastically totally different from the one Evian first sponsored again in 1989, when the event welcomed 416,855 attendees in comparison with final 12 months’s 957,387. On August 26, 2024, the primary day of this 12 months’s event set a single-day attendance file for the occasion with 74,641 followers. Evian can be the official water sponsor of Wimbledon, the London-based Grand Slam that happens yearly in June.

Heineken joined as an official sponsor a number of years after Evian in 1994, and 2024 marks their thirtieth consecutive 12 months with the occasion. The model continues to harness the eye of the U.S. Open to focus on new initiatives. This 12 months, it’s all in regards to the nonalcoholic Heineken 0.0 which, whereas initially launched in 2019, has gotten an improve. “It will be significant for us to point out that moderation will be cool, which is why we launched a limited-edition Heineken 0.0 can solely for U.S. Open attendees this 12 months,” says Jonnie Cahill, Heineken USA’s chief advertising officer. 

This 12 months Heineken launched restricted version cans for his or her flagship nonalcoholic providing, retitled L0VE.L0VE, named for the beginning rating of 0-0 in tennis, alongside a nationwide marketing campaign the place customers may win tickets to the Open.

The Honey Deuce enters the court docket

The early-to-mid aughts had been an thrilling time for tennis for a number of causes. Roger Federer’s breakout success garnered worldwide consideration and fame, and the Williams’ sisters fast ascent to tennis royalty introduced well-deserved consideration to the ladies’s sport. Additionally, the Honey Deuce cocktail made its first look on the U.S. Open.

The Honey Deuce is a tart and candy cocktail made with Gray Goose vodka, lemonade, and Chambord raspberry liqueur, topped with three excellent spheres of honey dew melon skewered onto a cocktail choose. Gray Goose tapped bartender and restaurant business veteran Nick Mautone to create a refreshing and easy-to-make cocktail suited to the occasion’s late-summer climate. 

“After enjoying round with a number of totally different recipe iterations, [Mautone] was at a farmers’ market on Lengthy Island when he noticed a carton of spherical honeydew,” says Aleco Azqueta, Gray Goose VP of selling, North America. “It hit him proper there that they seemed similar to iridescent tennis balls, and that recent honeydew wanted to be the cocktail’s star garnish. The remainder of the recipe fell into place from there.”

Gray Goose has been a associate of the event since 2006 and launched the drink a 12 months later. They’ve bought over 2.25 million Honey Deuces within the 16 years for the reason that cocktail first launched, and it is risen from $14 to a whopping $23 per drink. In line with enterprise influencer Joe Pompliano, the cocktail yields over $10 million in gross sales yearly, sufficient income to cowl the prize cash for each the mens and ladies’s finals.

The cocktail has solely grown in recognition regardless of its rising price, a testomony to Gray Goose’s success with advertising the Honey Deuce as a must-get event attraction and cultural image. “The Honey Deuce has developed an even bigger cult following than we may have imagined,” says Azqueta. 

The drink has impressed trend collaborations and is being remade at bars and eating places throughout New York. So many bars will likely be recreating the Honey Deuce that Gray Goose launched a  “warmth map” the place customers can discover the closest cocktail to their zip code. Emirates, one other associate of the U.S. Open, can be serving the Honey Deuce on flights to and from New York Metropolis through the period of the event. 

Some progressive variations of Honey Deuce will be discovered on the U.S. Open’s American Categorical Fan Expertise the place cardmembers have entry to creamy, frozen variations of the fashionable basic. To not depart youngsters out of the cross-branding extravaganza, a scrumptious mint chocolate chip ice cream coloured like a tennis ball is now additionally supplied in collaboration with Van Leeuwen.

Extra followers means extra alternatives

The previous few years have seen a large growth in tennis viewership as the game has change into extra accessible to a bigger viewers. Netflix’s documentary Break Level helped pave the best way for a youthful technology of followers as did the rise in tennis influencers, particularly the romantic companions of American tennis stars like Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe whose vital others have effectively over 1 million Instagram followers mixed. 

Aperol and Maestro Dobel tequila joined the U.S. Open drinks lineup in 2023, every providing cocktails geared toward a brand new technology of tennis followers. “We noticed a rise in U.S. client curiosity in premium tequilas in addition to increasing curiosity in tennis, significantly amongst a youthful multicultural viewers,” says Lander Otegui, senior vice chairman of selling at Proximo Spirits.

Past signature cocktail choices matched with tennis gamers like Aryna Sabalenka and Taylor Fritz, the model additionally launched the Dobel Tequila Membership, an on-site house serving Mexican dishes by celeb chef Enrique Olvera.

Whereas Dobel is bringing a style of Mexico to the U.S. Open, Aperol has been channeling Italy. The famed aperitif model serves Aperol Spritzes throughout the event grounds, positioned as a lower-ABV different. “From the beginning, our major goal was to infuse the event with a slice of Italian tradition,” says Andrea Sengara, Campari America’s vice chairman of selling. “We aimed to have interaction with customers in a well-recognized setting by creating on-site locations that encourage group and togetherness.” 

The Italian espresso model Lavazza has additionally had a presence on the U.S. Open since 2015, however expanded their choices this 12 months to incorporate a complete menu of basic and inventive Espresso Martinis. 

Moët & Chandon Champagne was the most recent addition to the beverage lineup this 12 months. Their $32 a glass Moët & Chandon Impérial prices a premium, however is available in a chrome-colored wine glass that has change into a sought-after memento for followers. 

Nonetheless, in the event you get caught with a drink on the jumbotron, you’re anticipated to chug the contents of your glass earlier than the followers start to boo. Some issues by no means change.