What goes in a Lonkku, or Lonkeru? Recipes?

[SimonBao]

Can anyone tell me just what is in Finnish Lonkku or Lonkeru drinks? From what I've seen online, it seems that one could make a Lonkku drink at home using vodka and Fresca, an American grapefruit/citrus soda? Is that correct? Do Finns mix Lonkku drinks at home, and if so, what do they put in them? And are those served on ice, or straight up?

Does anyone have any recipes for making Lonkku at home?

[Jukka Aho]

Can anyone tell me just what is in Finnish Lonkku or Lonkeru drinks? From what I've seen online, it seems that one could make a Lonkku drink at home using vodka and Fresca, an American grapefruit/citrus soda? Is that correct?

Wikipedia has a fairly good article on the Finnish “long drinks”.

For the two classic Finnish long drinks, you’d use either gin and grapefruit soda or brandy and Pommac.

Pommac is a Swedish specialty: a carbonated soft drink getting its flavor from 25 different fruits and berries (or so they say, the recipe is kept secret!) – primarily apples and grapes I guess. It is matured for at least 3 months in oak barrels like wine, too. This soft drink was first launched in Sweden in the 1910s, as a non-alcoholic alternative to sparkling wine, and from 1930s onwards it has also been available in Finland. See here and here and here for more information. The old Pommac bottles looked like this. As you can see, it aims to be a more “prestigious” carbonated beverage than your run-of-the-mill sodas...

That said, the grapefruit version is much more common.

Curiously, while the original long drinks were mixed with distilled spirits – and still are, if you buy them in the state-run alcohol beverage retail monopoly stores, the variants available in Finnish supermarkets get their alcohol through a non-orthodox fermentation process... because the law does not allow selling mixed drinks anywhere else than in the Alko monopoly stores... and in restaurants, bars, and night clubs, of course. But “real” long drinks are mixed, not fermented.

Do Finns mix Lonkku drinks at home, and if so, what do they put in them? And are those served on ice, or straight up?

Some might mix them at home too. (I mean, why not, if you’ve got some gin and grapefruit soda and feel like it.) Probably not too common, though. If we trust Panimo- ja virvoitusjuomateollisuusliitto, the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, according to them, manufacturing long drinks is a fairly similar process to manufacturing soda, the primary distinction being the addition of alcohol. And long drinks should be served cold, preferably on ice.

Does anyone have any recipes for making Lonkku at home?

I don’t think there’s much need for a recipe. Just calculate the volumes so you’ll get a similar alcohol content to the commercial products. See this Alko search form for the long drink products in their catalog and their ingredient listings which include the volume percentage of alcohol. (Open the “Product Group” list, scroll down a bit, select “Long drink” and click the “Search” button.)

[SimonBao]

Do Finns mix Lonkku drinks at home, and if so, what do they put in them? And are those served on ice, or straight up?

Some might mix them at home too. (I mean, why not, if you’ve got some gin and grapefruit soda and feel like it.) Probably not too common, though. If we trust Panimo- ja virvoitusjuomateollisuusliitto, the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, according to them, manufacturing long drinks is a fairly similar process to manufacturing soda, the primary distinction being the addition of alcohol. And long drinks should be served cold, preferably on ice.

Thanks, Jukka, that was a very thoroughly and useful reply, especially that link to Alko. Would I be right in guessing then that, at home, a Finn who likes gin would just prefer a good gin-based cocktail rather than a home-mixed version of Lonkku?

[Jukka Aho]

Thanks, Jukka, that was a very thoroughly and useful reply, especially that link to Alko. Would I be right in guessing then that, at home, a Finn who likes gin would just prefer a good gin-based cocktail rather than a home-mixed version of Lonkku?

Probably so. Lonkku is more for the masses – an “easy-going” alcoholic beverage; an alternative to beer and cider – whereas buying gin separately is for the classes... and then you’d probably want something mixed of it that is deemed more “classy”.

[Upphew]

I might add a splash of gin in my lonkero from a store, as they tend to be a bit too sweet by themselves, but I won't be mixing one from scratch.