The Tennis Star, our US Open cocktail
The Tennis Star is whiskey, pear, lemon and tonic, served on the rocks. It is the US Open cocktail we pour at MADRE, our MICHELIN Guide restaurant at 214 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, and it was built as the opposite of what most people drink for these two weeks. Refreshing and tangy rather than sweet. The main draw runs from August 30 to September 13.
What is in it
Whiskey, pear, lemon, tonic. On the rocks.
Four things. No syrup, no liqueur, no fruit on a skewer. The pear carries the sweetness so nothing else has to, the lemon keeps it tight, and the tonic gives it length and a little bitterness at the back.
It sits at $18 on our cocktail list, between the Garden Party and the Sweet ‘n Hot.
Why whiskey and tonic
Tonic is usually gin’s territory, sometimes vodka’s. Whiskey normally gets soda, which adds fizz and nothing else.
Tonic is different because it brings quinine, and quinine is bitter. Put it against a brown spirit and you get an argument rather than a highball. Most bars avoid the problem by not trying.
The pear is what settles it. It has enough body to meet the whiskey and enough sweetness to sit under the quinine, so the bitterness reads as structure instead of a mistake. The lemon then does what lemon does, which is stop the whole thing turning soft.
The result is a long drink you can hold through a fourth set. That was the brief.
The problem with the official one
The US Open has poured the Honey Deuce since 2006. Vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and honeydew melon balls on a skewer so they look like tennis balls. It was commissioned by Grey Goose and built by bartender Nick Mautone, and the design constraint was that a stadium had to be able to make thousands of them quickly.
It is a genuinely clever piece of work and it has become the drink of the tournament. It is also very sweet, and it costs $23 at the grounds.
Two weeks is a long time to drink sweet. Somewhere around the second Thursday, most people want something with an edge on it. That is the gap the Tennis Star was built for.
What to eat with it
Whiskey and tonic wants salt and fat opposite it, not more sugar.
The croquetas are the obvious first move. Black truffle, manchego, celery root espuma. Fried, rich, and small enough to keep eating while you watch.
Oysters work for the same reason the drink does. Kumamotos with mignonette and lemon, and the citrus in the glass picks up the citrus on the plate.
If you are staying for dinner, the octopus is the one. Charred Spanish octopus with romesco, chimichurri and pickled cactus. Smoke and acid, which is exactly what a whiskey highball is asking for.
The two weeks it was made for
The Open lands at an odd seam in the year. Late August in New York is still properly hot, and by the men’s final on September 13 the evenings have turned. A drink has to work at both ends of that.
Vodka drinks do the first week well and then feel thin. Brown spirit drinks do the second week well and feel heavy in the first. The Tennis Star gets to sit in the middle, because tonic and lemon keep it cold-weather-proof while the whiskey holds up once the temperature drops.
That is not an accident of the season. It is the reason a whiskey highball exists at all.
The rest of the list, briefly
The Tennis Star is one of seven. If it is not what you are after, the list at MADRE is built so that each drink does a different job.
El Sancho is the aggressive one. Mezcal, apricot, campari, habanero and cinnamon, served on pebble ice. Bitter and spicy, and it does not apologize for either.
Eat My Stardust goes the other way. Vodka, raspberry, lychee and lemon, on the rocks. Fruity and bright, and the closest thing on our list to what you would drink at the stadium.
Fix Me Up is the classicist’s order. Gin, green chartreuse, elderflower and pear, served up. Crisp and clean, and the chartreuse keeps it from being polite.
Garden Party is white rum, basil cordial, lemongrass and lime, served up. Herbal and sweet. The one to order in the first week of the tournament while it is still properly hot.
Sweet ‘n Hot is tequila, pineapple, jalapeño and yuzu, on the rocks with sal de gusano on the rim. The salt is the point.
Lost in Translation is the nightcap. Mezcal, cynar, sweet vermouth and mole bitters, on the rocks. Cacao and spirit forward, and closer to a Negroni’s temperament than anything else here.
If you are not drinking
Three on the list, and they are built rather than sweetened.
Golden Snitch is seedlip garden, muña tea, gooseberry, ginger and lemon. Havana Mama is seedlip spice, pineapple, cinnamon, honey and yuzu. Limonada Verde is seedlip garden, basil cordial, lemon and rosewater.
Muña is an Andean mint, and gooseberry is tart enough to do the work citrus usually does. These are not lemonade with a garnish.
There is also a rotating draft from Kings County Brewers Collective in Bushwick, if the answer is simply beer.
After the tournament
It stays on the list. The name is seasonal, the drink is not.
If you want to read more about how we cook here, our MICHELIN Guide entry explains what the recognition actually means, and the Greenpoint restaurant guide maps the rest of the neighborhood if you are making a night of it.
Frequently asked questions
What is in the Tennis Star cocktail at MADRE?
Whiskey, pear, lemon and tonic, served on the rocks. It is refreshing and tangy rather than sweet, and it sits at $18 on the cocktail list at MADRE, 214 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Is it the same as the Honey Deuce?
No, and deliberately so. The Honey Deuce is the official US Open drink, made with vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur and honeydew melon balls, and it is sweet. The Tennis Star is a whiskey highball built to be dry and tangy, for people who want something with an edge after two weeks of sugar.
When is the 2026 US Open?
The main draw runs from August 30 to September 13, 2026, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The women’s singles final is September 12 and the men’s is September 13.
Does whiskey actually work with tonic?
It does, with the right build. Tonic brings quinine, which is bitter, and that can fight a brown spirit. Pear is what makes it work here, because it has the body to meet the whiskey and the sweetness to sit under the bitterness, so the tonic reads as structure rather than a clash.
What should I order with it?
Something salty and fatty rather than sweet. The croquetas with black truffle and manchego, the kumamoto oysters, or the charred Spanish octopus with romesco if you are staying for dinner.
Is the Tennis Star only available during the US Open?
No. The name is seasonal but the drink stays on the list after the tournament finishes.
Come have one
MADRE is a MICHELIN Guide restaurant at 214 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, serving New American cooking with seasonal, worldly flavors. The Tennis Star is on the cocktail list now.
Book a table through our reservations page, or see the rest of the list on the menu.