Hartwall Original Long Drink significant event 1952 Summer Olympics
History
Hartwall Original Long Drink was originally developed for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland to lighten the burden of the bar staff when Helsinki received visitors from all around the world. The original intent was to only produce the beverage during the Olympics, but as the beverage grew popular the customers demanded that its production should be continued even after the Olympics. At the same time a new beverage category for long drinks was born in Finland, colloquially called "lonkero" (from the words "long drink", literally meaning "tentacle" in Finnish). There originally were two flavours: Gin Long Drink made from gin and grapefruit lemonade and Brandy Long Drink made from brandy and Pommac. Production of Brandy Long Drink ended in the 1970s but the beverage came back onto the market produced by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas in 2009.Until 1995 grocery stores sold a lighter version with 2.6% alcohol, which was removed from the market when Finland joined the European Union. In 2016 the product came back onto the market, as the requirement that only fermented alcoholic beverages could be sold in grocery stores did not apply to beverages of under 2.8% alcohol.