Long drink

A long drink or tall drink is an alcoholic mixed drink with a relatively large volume (> 12 cl, frequently 16–40 cl or between 5 - 9 fluid ounces).

This terminology had fallen out of favor over the last decade or two, but is now enjoying a revival. A long drink will have a tall glass full of mixer and usually ice, perfect for warmer days, as opposed to a short drink, in which the liquor is the main ingredient.

An example long drink is a Tom Collins, a classic cocktail best made with fresh sour mix and a light gin. An easy to make style of long drink is the highball, a basic cocktail composed of one liquor, one mixer, and perhaps a garnish over ice, and so named after an old name for a fastball. A classic example of the highball is the gin and tonic, garhished with lime, which got its start in the British Raj as a way to make quinine-bearing tonic water more palatable.

Long drinks in Finland

Finnish "long drink", made from gin and grapefruit soda

In Finland, the term long drink has come to refer almost exclusively to certain factory-produced mixed beverages. By far the most well-known and popular variety is the gin long drink, essentially a mixture of grapefruit soda and gin, which is now regarded more or less a national speciality.

In 1952, Finland was preparing to receive exceptional amounts of tourism connected to the Summer Olympics of that year. As a compromise following the Finnish prohibition (1919–1932), the country was living in an era of strict state-controlled alcohol policy. In order to help the catering trade face a wave of foreign customers, the state allowed some liberalization and Alkoholiliike, the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly, introduced two brands of pre-mixed, bottled, ready-to-consume long drinks. These were the Gin Long Drink (gin with grapefruit) and the Brandy Long Drink (brandy with Pommac), then manufactured by Hartwall for Alkoholiliike. The latter product was discontinued in the 1970s, after which the term long drink became primarily associated with the gin-and-grapefruit beverage in Finland.

Further liberalization of alcohol policy led to the birth of several long drink brands by different companies. Some experimented with using lemon, orange or other flavors instead of grapefruit. Others started manufacturing mild long drinks based on fermentation rather than on adding spirits. The 2000s saw the reintroduction of the brandy long drink (now by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas) as well.

The English term long drink has been widely replaced by the pet-name lonkero (“tentacle”) in Finnish everyday speech, so much so that some of the newer brands officially use that word instead.

as of 2007 the Hartwall Original Gin Long Drink remained the most popular single product sold by Alko, now outselling even Koskenkorva, the most popular Finnish spirit.

See also

• Greyhound (cocktail)
• Highball (cocktail)