Grey Goose and the United States Tennis Association extended their partnership through at least 2027, marking two decades of exclusive vodka presence at the US Open. The Bacardi-owned brand is layering a Grand Central Terminal activation and expanded on-site programming into a deal structure believed to exceed $15 million annually when media value and pour rights are included. The renewal comes as spirit brands allocated $1.2 billion to sports sponsorships in 2024, up from $850 million two years prior, according to IEG valuation data.
The partnership centers on the Honey Deuce cocktail, which generated 450,000 unit sales across the 2023 championship's 14-day run. Grey Goose holds exclusive pour rights in all premium hospitality suites, courtside clubs, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium. This year's activation includes a 2,800-square-foot pop-up in Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall running August 19-September 8, staffed by 16 on-site brand ambassadors and featuring a Honey Deuce bar, merchandise, and player meet-and-greet slots. The brand also signed Brooklyn Nets forward Josh Hart as a multi-year ambassador, his first spirits endorsement, to anchor social and experiential content during the tournament window.
The extension matters because tennis remains the only major US sport vertical where a single vodka brand controls both on-premise and broadcast exclusivity at the marquee event. Tito's, Ketel One, and Belvedere have all launched tennis-adjacent programs since 2022, but none hold US Open inventory. Grey Goose's 20-year tenure predates the modern experiential playbook—its first activation in 2005 featured a single hospitality tent. Today the brand operates 9 on-site footprints including courtside bars, VIP lounges, and a players' lounge. The Honey Deuce itself, introduced in 2006, now appears in 68% of US Open attendee social posts that mention a beverage, per Brandwatch sentiment tracking. That cocktail-specific recall rate outperforms Heineken's presence at the same event by 22 percentage points, despite Heineken's broader activation footprint. The USTA partnership also anchors Grey Goose's broader tennis vertical: the brand sponsors 14 ATP and WTA players and operates year-round at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center programming, not just the Open's two-week window.
For operators, the Grand Central pop-up is the tell. Bacardi is testing a 21-day off-site activation in a transit hub that moves 750,000 daily passengers, using the US Open as air cover but building a standalone branded experience that doesn't require ticket purchase. If foot traffic and conversion meet internal benchmarks—believed to be 12,000 pop-up visits and 35% sampling-to-purchase intent—expect Bacardi to replicate the model at Miami Art Basel, Pebble Beach, and other luxury calendar anchors where the company holds partnership inventory. The Josh Hart signing also signals a shift: Grey Goose is moving from legacy tennis names to younger, culturally fluent athletes who play tennis recreationally but hold primary equity in basketball and lifestyle verticals. Hart's 4.2 million combined social reach skews 18 years younger than the brand's historical ambassador roster.
Watch for Bacardi's Q4 earnings call in late October, when the company typically discloses experiential ROI on major partnerships. The US Open activation will be the first full test of Grey Goose's repositioning under global brand director Aleco Azqueta, who joined from Patrón in March 2024 and has pushed for higher-frequency, lower-cost activations over tentpole-only spend. If the Grand Central model pencils, expect 3-5 similar off-site executions in 2025 tied to existing sports and cultural partnerships.
The takeaway
Grey Goose's 20-year US Open renewal tests transit-hub activations and younger ambassadors as Bacardi shifts toward higher-frequency experiential beyond tentpole-only models.
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