Cuffing Season Delayed Due to Climate Change
Catch me in a relationship never
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Hello hot people- if you are receiving this, it is because you signed up for/attended a Drinks First event. If you’re lucky, I send this out once a month (it’s been less recently)… Give me a chance before you choose to unsubscribe, and if you do- I’d love to know why you hate me and want to see me fail xx <3 p.s. and If you truly want to support a south asian woman this term (too soon?), you can pay to subscribe xx
CONTENTS:
Monthly Musings
Drinks First Recap
Upcoming Happenings
Highlighted Singles
Rapid Fire Recommendations
CASTING!
Behind the paywall:
Marfa recommendations
Discount code for Diwali Guaranteed Entry Ticket
Monthly Musings
I am adding this section to the newsletter to wax poetic for a second- if you don’t care, feel free to scroll down.
I haven’t written a substack in like two months… did you miss me? That’s how unserious this is- except I was told that some people make $300k-1M on substack so now I’ve been questioning everything. I’ve started asking guys to subscribe to my substack instead of buying me a drink. She’s a business woman…
Anyway.. So what the FUCK is up kyle!? My brother got married to his wife- they’ve been together 10 years. The wedding took 3 years to plan. It was perfect. His wedding made me so happy that I was single, because why would I settle for anything less than the love that they have? Wild.
The wedding really consumed my life for the entire month of September, but that’s what it means to be Indian. I tried to keep up with Drinks First things, but that was my time to be really locked in with family.
Travel wise it’s been surprisingly slow, which is why I decided to escape to Texas for a week. Yeah… Texas. I visited El Paso and Marfa to see one of my best childhood friends for her birthday. El Paso is an incredibly interesting city located at the nexus of cultures. It was the first time I ever saw the USA/Mexico border. Marfa is a liberal artist community located in the middle of the desert. I learned a lot on this trip, it’s one I would urge people to take. More of that in my subscriber only section, including my recs.
I returned just in time to nyc for the hell week that was halloween/diwali/marathon/daylight savings/election. A quick note about why we chose not to do a halloween party this year… like why would we? lol. As a business, there is so much competition that weekend I rather funnel my energy into putting on an amazing Diwali party. More on that below…
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The election wasn’t what I quite hoped, but it would be naive to say it’s not what most Americans wanted. I spend a LOT of time traveling, and my time in Texas was surprising. The people there who were willing to talk about politics with me were incredibly split on who they were voting for. I went to college in Pittsburgh, PA in 2016- so I was prepared this time around that NYC is insane bubble for liberal politics.
I spent election night with a number of different people. A group of mostly liberal intellectuals from Columbia/Science Po, two people who worked in hospitality who voted for Jill Stein and lived in Brooklyn, a Jewish person and their friend from Missouri who were both Trump supporters. Let me make it abundantly clear- I voted for Harris/Walz, but since 2016 I made an exerted effort to cultivate people around me who think differently than I do. This is why yes, the results of this election were crushing (to me), but not surprising. The world is richer with different perspectives and empathy.
Drinks First isn’t an inherently political brand. We do not discriminate against anyone, but we also don’t have the tolerance for those who can’t provide mutual respect for one another. And that is it. We want to be a space for connection for all.
And with that…
DRINKS FIRST EVENT RECAP
End of August / September / October… whoops it has been a minute. But you guys have been showing up:
END OF SUMMER SUNDOWNER @ LE BAIN
Nearly 1200 people rsvp’d for our end of summer sundowner at Le Bain. Kinda unheard of for a Thursday afternoon before labor day. The weather was nice, people were mingling on the roof and partying in the club. Honestly- I liked this event but it was chiller than I expected. People really do come to mingle at our events lol (sick but also like who wants to danceee???)
YAPPY HOURS
We launched our newest event series called Yappy Hour where we highlight some of the best happy hour spots in NYC while you get to meet new people from Drinks First in a super chill environment. The event isn’t meant to be dating focused, it is moreso for people from our community to meet others in a low pressure way. The first two were in collaboration with @istudiedabroadinlondon and were at Cathedrale and The Highlight Room! Both have insane happy hours ($12 martinis and $5 bites at Cathedrale and $5 rose at The Highlight Room). Stay tuned for our next one!
DRINKS FIRST X SHABBAT CLUB
We then teamed up with Shabbat Club to throw a party at Alice- an insanely gorgeous Italian restaurant in a townhouse in greenwich village that turns into a club on certain nights. We had over 600 applicants and only 120 spots, so safe to say we’ll definitely be doing another one of these again. If there are other communities you’d like to see us work with- drop us a line!
DRINKS FIRST TEXAS
We also did a sneaky lil halloween party in El Paso, Texas. It was a wild one- excited to do things across America… I haven’t gotten the official photos back yet but see below:
Just a reminder- you can find all our event photos here:
What’s Next?
DRINKS FIRST DIWALI
Come celebrate Diwali- the festival of lights with Drinks First, the best way to meet new people in NYC. This event is open to singles, non singles, and everyone in and out of the South Asian community. Diwali is one of the most fun holidays of the year, we can't wait to celebrate it with everyone.
Sounds all night long by Arjun Shah (Vinyl Set), Offering Rain, Firungi, and Armana Khan. Specialty cocktails by Rosaluna and Kolkata Chai Co with support from Peroni. Late night eats by Chaat Dog. Henna by Hussain's Henna by Arsh. Extra special support from DOST.
Graciously sponsored by Rosaluna and Peroni.
THIS IS OUR LAST BIG DRINKS FIRST EVENT OF THE YEAR. DO NOT MISS IT YOUR CHANCE FOR ONE LAST BLOW OUT.
UPCOMING… DRINKS FIRST ART BASEL MIAMI IS IN MOTION
NYC’S KINDA ELIGBILE
As promised- each newsletter I will highlight 2 single individuals, and we will facilitate the connections.
Prarthana
Name: Prarthana
Age: 31
Neighborhood: Jersey city
Seeking: fun dates and long term relationship and someone who is equally down to try new things
Occupation: currently doing my MBA (prev engineer)
Review from a friend:
“she’ll keep u humble but show you how to have the most fun ”
“🌶️🌶️🌶️”
“ she’ll will surprise you and challenge you in the best ways “
“She will increase your spice tolerance “
“She is always up to something new- but will take you along in the journey “
Something special: Trying to get into entertainment and media industry (strategy so hmu)! Loves food, music festivals, adventure (EBC 🗻this Dec) and trying something new
Kendal
Name: Kendal
Age: 28
Neighborhood: Greenpoint (next to McCarren)
Seeking: Like a moth to the flame, there’s nothing better than a silly person who loves their friends, can’t stop laughing, and is wicked smart.
Occupation: Partnership Manager @ Beauty Marketing Tech
Review from a friend: “Ken knows how to have fun and live life to the max more than anyone I know. He’s the center of many social circles and brings light to any dull moment. Going out with Ken in any capacity is a real treat in a sea of dry people.”
Something special: Three things I love: Extra Dirty Gin Martini (stired), boot cut pants that fit just right, and my morning routines!Name: Kendal
EXCITING NEWS!!!
We are casting for our next season of Drinks First. This is your time to be featured to all our audience and to sit down and share your relationship and nyc life stories, experiences, hopes, and dreams. If you are interested (even if you have applied before) please fill out the following form:
Rapid Fire Recommendations
Date Night: Hellbender
Where to dance: Club Room at Soho Grand
Where to take your parents/out of towners: Overstory and Crown Shy
Meeting someone you already went on a date with a while ago but you just reconnected: The Met and Cafe Sabarsky
When you want a sweet treat: Glace (collab with ToooMuchFoood)
When you want to get denied at the door (but feel really good if you get in): Submercer
Best Happy Hour: One Fifth
Cheap Eats: Habanero Pibil
Hotel of the moment: The Manner
Place I should gatekeep: Shalel
One thing I’m loving: Wavy Talk Straightening Brush
A plug worth plugging: Donate to Planned Parenthood
That’s all for now (for you freeloaders)
Behind the paywall:
travel recommendations + itineraries (this month it is Marfa recs)
discounts/vip/first access to Drinks First events (sometimes the value of this > the substack subscription)
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