The Upland Affair: A Toast to Resilience

I couldn’t help but wonder... if a drink could tell a story, what would ours say?

When we first started Upland Studios, it wasn't all flashing lights and streaming success. It was late nights fueled by cold tea, whiteboards filled with dreams that seemed just out of reach, and a stubborn belief that stories from the margins deserved the main stage. In those early days, I often found myself wishing there was a ritual—a celebration—for the small wins, the unseen battles, the resilience it took to build something out of nothing.

Enter The Upland Affair.

It wasn’t born out of marketing strategy meetings or mixologist brainstorming sessions. It was born on an ordinary Tuesday evening when, after a particularly exhilarating call with a future showrunner, I decided to toast... myself. I reached for what we always had on hand at the studio: our prized Western Cape Rooibos tea (a nod to our roots in storytelling cultures around the world), a splash of 1883 syrup (sweet, bold, uncompromising—like us), a bit of prosecco for sparkle, and a single mint leaf for hope.

I poured it into a coupe glass, watched the deep amber swirl with golden fizz, and thought: This... feels like us. Bold but soft. Rooted yet sparkling. Beautiful but not trying too hard. Resilient.

From that night on, The Upland Affair became more than just a drink; it became a ritual. The first sip marked the beginning of every recording of our podcast, Books Are the New Rich, where we toast to creativity, innovation, and the freedom to tell our stories. It became our studio’s bespoke signature—a reminder that while the world may not always recognize your brilliance at first sip, those who do are worth celebrating.

Now, every time I walk into a taping and see The Upland Affair in our guests’ hands, it feels like a love letter to every creative spirit who dared to believe in their own voice.

Because resilience isn’t loud. It’s not always glamorous. Sometimes, it’s just a beautifully crafted drink on a sunlit afternoon in New York, surrounded by friends who see you, who get it, who raise a glass to your journey—past, present, and breathtaking future.

So here’s to resilience. Here’s to The Upland Affair. Here's to all of us who dared to believe: our story was never small—it just needed the right glass to sparkle.

-April Sheris