The Telegraph (UK)

29 June 2003

The magazine with the answer to all life's problems: get drunk

By Julian Coman in Washington

It must rank as the most politically incorrect publication in America: a magazine dedicated to a select readership of old soaks, barflies and inveterate long-lunchers.

In a market which already boasts a myriad of titles catering for minority interests, the Modern Drunkard has found a surprising niche. The motto of its 38-year-old editor, Frank Rich, is taken from the writer, Charles Bukowski: "When you were drunk, the world was still out there, but at least it didn't have you by the throat."

This is the consoling message that Mr Rich has decided to send from editorial offices, complete with bar, in downtown Denver, Colorado. Each month, readers can browse through a range of drink-related news stories, witty, intelligent reflections on the creative benefits of alcoholic excess, and uplifting celebrations of the lives of great drunks.

As part of a series of fantasy heavyweight drinking contests, Dorothy Parker was pitted against Orson Welles; the latter won. Other popular features in this month's issue include "Let's Go (Get Drunk) in Eastern Europe" and "Drink Your Way To Fitness".

A short piece of analysis draws predictable conclusions from a famous baseball performance by "Boomer" Wells, the former New York Yankees pitcher. In a recent autobiography, the magazine reveals, Mr Wells claims he played his best-ever game while "half-drunk, with bloodshot eyes, monster breath and a raging, skull-rattling hangover". Mr Rich concludes: "Alcohol can be a magnificent source of inspiration."

The publication's cult success, notable even in a US magazine market that offers a dizzying array of minority interest titles, has prompted a recruitment drive across America and in London where Mr Rich plans to launch a British edition.

"We'll change some things in Britain," said Mr Rich, "but the tone and content will basically be the same: a magazine by and for drunkards."

Alcoholics Anonymous workers hate the magazine. In Denver, a volunteer with Cares, an organisation providing refuge for street drunks, said angrily: "Come down here and I'll show you some modern drunkards." But defiant drinkers are subscribing in increasing numbers, with latest readership figures topping 50,000.

"They've got magazines for every other minority. Why not one for drunks," said one subscriber and denizen of the Cariola bar in Denver (morning Happy Hour: 7-10am).

The magazine's success is undoubtedly a reaction to the increasingly abstemious nature of American society. States across the country have resolutely refused to lower a rigid minimum drinking age of 21, and daytime drinking is increasingly frowned upon during the working week.

In the restaurants of Washington and New York, and in the health-conscious cafes of California, businessmen, lobbyists, politicians and beautiful people habitually choose water over wine at lunch.

"We're a successful reaction against this uptight America," Mr Rich told The Telegraph. "We're trying to convince Americans that there should be no guilt attached to being drunk. America's economic golden age in the 1950s took place when it was commonplace for businessmen to down three large martinis at lunchtime.

"A lot of the time, it is alcohol which helps us to function in difficult circumstances. Look at Churchill. He was more or less drinking all the way through the Second World War. If you took any list of the greatest politicians, writers and artists that the world has produced, you'd find it dominated by functioning alcoholics."

By expanding into Britain, Mr Rich's dream is to turn the magazine into an international platform for the regularly inebriated. After spending a number of years in Britain, London seemed a natural second home for his publication. A sales team is being recruited and the magazine is seeking contributions from heavy drinkers.

"England was an awakening for me in terms of drinking," said Mr Rich. "My first pint of Guinness was almost a religious experience. I had no idea about the variety of beers and ales until I lived in London."