The youthful new magazine Imbibe, whose tagline is “Drinks Culture Life,” seeks a unique place in the epicurean market by exclusively covering beverages, including cocktails, beer, wine, coffee, tea, juice and even water. The first subscription offer from the independent title was a polybag with a free sample of the May/June 2006 “Premiere Issue” and a card-like insert duplicating the cover image. Editorial content in the sample issue includes profiles of experts, recipes, and product reviews for such things as bars, pitchers and glasses, not to mention the beverages themselves. Glancing through its pages, Imbibe looks like a drinking version of two other independent magazines for 20 and 30-somethings: Readymade and Chow (neither of which have been tracked promoting via direct mail). On the insert, the headlines (“12 Great Hotel Bars,” “Sinfully Good Trappist Ales,” “A Drink Lover’s Guide to Oaxaca” and “Third Wave Coffee”) are replaced by promotional copy, which reads, “Your Ultimate Guide to Drinks” and “Preview Copy – On the House!” The insert incorporates a Business Reply postcard labeled “Special Charter Invitation.” The promotion carries a hard offer of $15.95 for six issues or $29 for 12 issues. Recipients are also directed online to ImbibeMagazine.com to subscribe.
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