To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, drink is the bane of writers. Few professions are as synonymous with sinful drunkenness as writing. And not without reason. Some for fame, some for writer's block, and some just for simple pleasure. Here are some literary geniuses who, for better or for worse, have had a few (too) many drinks.
1. IAN FLEMING (James Bond series)
007 is more irresponsible than you might imagine. It's true, he checks into hotels with his real name (which must make him the least secret agent ever) and yes, he sleeps with enough women to start his own STD clinic. And yet, the latest research in 2013 shows that he is a known spy drank between 65 and 92 glasses of alcohol per week. This excessive consumption of alcohol is comparable to its author Fleming - a man tormented by demons of will, losses and geopolitical secrets, drank a bottle of gin a day. Well, until the time when the doctor advised him bourbon. After all, you only live twice.
Favorite drink: Gin Martini
2. WILLIAM FAULKNER (Light in August, 1932)
"A man shouldn't fool with booze until he's fifty, and then he's a damn fool if he doesn't,” once advised William Faulkner, who was “joking” with drink long before his fifties. A bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey she was part of his writing process at his fingertips. If you ever hang around in his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, you might even spot a whiskey bottle on his tombstone.
Favorite drink: Mint Julep (bourbon whiskey and mint)
3. F. SCOTT FITZGERALD (The Great Gatsby, 1925)
Just as his intoxicating descriptions of the excesses of high society left readers breathless, so did Fitzgerald's demands on alcohol and chose gin, as he believed that it could not be detected in the breath. Gin, among other drinks, was often the occasion for various social antics, which they guessed together with his wife Zelda. Unfortunately, he also separated the couple.
Favorite drink: Gin Rickey (gin, lime, mineral water)
4. STEPHEN KING (Radiation, 1977)
Beer. Depression. Cocaine. Writing. Suicidal thoughts. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was Stephen King's nightmare relied on vices and ended up so bad that he is unable to remember how and when he wrote Cujo. One of the author's greatest fears was the possibility that lost the creative spark, if sanity ever prevailed. He later admitted that he had been drinking since it was legal for him to drink and that the only time he dedicated himself to himself was when he got drunk to the point of unconsciousness.
Favorite drink: Beer
READ MORE: Stephen King's tips on how to become a good writer
5. HUNTER S. THOMPSON (Fear and Terror in Las Vegas, 1972)
He was never averse to standing out from the crowd. Like his journalism, the drink had to be: strong, in-your-face and always smooth. He allegedly drank at his first meeting with a major publisher 20 glasses of Double Wild Turkey and then walked away as if he was only drinking tea. The fact is that Wild Turkey has become such a vice of the writer that he managed to include it in all his works.
Favorite drink: Wild Turkey Bourbon (Wild Turkey Bourbon, Lime, Ginger Beer)
6. TRUMAN CAPOTE (Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1958)
No one can blame Capote for not knowing mix business and pleasure. He even went so far as to describe his writing process thus: “As the afternoon wears on, I shift from coffee to mint tea to sherry to martinis – I don't use a typewriter. Not in the beginning. I write my first version in longhand."
Favorite drink: Large Vodka and Orange
7. EDGAR ALLAN POE (The Raven, 1845)
Dark poetry and bloody literature aren't the only things Edgar Allan Poe loved. This also includes bottle of brandy per day. His neighbor once said of him that she very rarely saw him without a bottle of the best brandy Benny Haven. And it's interesting that the poor guy eventually got rid of rabies.
Favorite drink: Egg liqueur
8. OSCAR WILDE (The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890)
How could you forget Oscar? Playwrights charming phrases on the subject of alcohol can only be compared to his love of devouring only this. After spending some time in Paris, he became his great love absinthe. His second love? Perfectly fitting for a man who had a sense for the finer things in life - champagne, even in the most difficult times.
Favorite drink: Cold champagne
