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).[1] In Finland, the term refers to a type of premixed, ready to drink alcoholic beverage.
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, often with ice, with a relatively small proportion of alcohol. This is in contrast to a short drink, in which the liquor is the main ingredient. The amount of alcohol in each type of drink may be the same, thus the long drink is a more dilute solution of alcohol.
A classic long drink is a Tom Collins. A simple style of long drink is the highball, a cocktail composed of one liquor and one mixer, (excluding garnish or ice). A classic example of the highball is the gin and tonic.
In Finland, the term "long drink" has come to refer almost exclusively to factory-produced mixed beverages. The best known variety is the "gin long drink", a mixture of grapefruit soda and gin.
In 1952, Finland was preparing to receive increased tourism connected to the 1952 Summer Olympics. As a compromise following the Finnish prohibition (1919–1932), the country was living with a strict state-controlled alcohol policy. In order to help vendors facing 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 manufactured by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas.
The English term long drink has been widely replaced by Finnish term lonkero (literally, "tentacle") in everyday speech, so much so that some of the newer brands use the word on their packaging.
As of 2007[update] the Hartwall Original Gin Long Drink remains the most popular single product sold by Alko, outselling Koskenkorva, the most popular Finnish spirit.[2]