Finland's Complicated Love Affair with Alcohol

Finland ran a 13-year prohibition from 1919 to 1932. It ended when just over 70% of the population voted to bring alcohol back.

Nearly a century later the country is still negotiating the terms. The rules are strict, occasionally absurd, and have changed twice in the last two years.

The same qualities that make Finland interesting in general show up here: stubborn independence, a willingness to do things differently, and a set of Finnish personality traits applied to a licensing regime.

1. Homer Simpson would not like Finland

Finnish law bans cartoon characters in alcohol advertising, on the reasoning that anything appealing to children has no business promoting drink.

Duff Beer, Homer Simpson's brand of choice, cannot be sold here under that name and branding. Regulators drew the line at the cartoon association. No Duff for Finland.

2. Nobody can hand out a free sample

In most industries a free sample is the obvious way to get someone to try your product. In Finnish alcohol it is simply not available. Public sampling is prohibited.

This is a genuine problem for small producers. Finnish microbreweries have grown considerably over the past decade and still cannot let a potential customer taste the beer at a public event.

3. The Long Drink was invented for tourists

The 1952 Helsinki Olympics posed a logistical problem. A large number of foreign visitors were arriving in a country with very few bars and limited infrastructure to serve them quickly.

The answer was the Long Drink: a pre-mixed gin and grapefruit soda, around 5.5%, that could be poured fast and at scale.

Finns liked it too. Lonkero stayed, and it is now one of the country's most recognisable exports.

4. Bloggers cannot promote alcohol

Finland was the first country in the world to write social media into its alcohol legislation. The amendment landed in 2015 and extended the existing advertising restrictions to blogs, social posts and online content generally.

Anything that could be read as encouraging consumption, or simply making a drink look appealing, falls into restricted territory.

A country that voted alcohol back in by seventy per cent, then spent ninety years writing rules about it.

5. The rules have just changed twice

For years the line was simple: anything above 5.5% came from Alko, the state monopoly. That is no longer true.

Since 10 June 2024, ordinary shops, kiosks and petrol stations can sell fermented drinks up to 8% ABV. That covers beer, cider and some wine. Drinks made by other methods, which means ready-to-drink mixes and long drinks, are still capped at 5.5%.

Then in June 2026 parliament approved a further reform, with the first provisions in force from 3 July. It opens up home delivery from domestic retailers, from Alko and from licensed delivery operators, and allows cross-border distance selling from EU and EEA online shops.

A country that ran prohibition within living memory now permits wine to arrive at the door.

6. Kalsarikännit is a national institution

Kalsarikännit is the practice of drinking at home, alone, in your underwear, with no intention of going anywhere. Finland has a word for it, and an officially sanctioned emoji.

It is not framed as a problem or a joke at the drinker's expense. It is a legitimate way to spend an evening, and the absence of any plan is the entire appeal.

How much do Finns actually drink?

Less than the reputation suggests, and less every year. In 2025, recorded consumption, meaning everything sold in shops, Alko and licensed venues, came to 6.9 litres of pure alcohol per person aged 15 and over. That was down 4.5% on 2024.

That figure does not capture drink brought in from abroad. Of the alcohol Finns carry home personally, 58% comes from Estonia or the ferries running between the two countries.

THL, the national health institute, changed how it measures those imports at the start of 2025 and is not publishing a total consumption figure for 2025 to 2027 as a result. So anyone quoting a precise national total right now is quoting an old one.

Frequently asked questions

What are the alcohol laws in Finland?

Shops, kiosks and petrol stations may sell fermented drinks up to 8% ABV, a limit raised from 5.5% in June 2024. Ready-to-drink mixes and long drinks remain capped at 5.5%. Anything stronger comes from Alko, the state monopoly. The legal drinking age is 18 for milder drinks and 20 for spirits.

Can you get alcohol delivered in Finland?

Yes, following the Alcohol Act reform approved in June 2026, with the first provisions in force from 3 July. It permits home delivery from domestic retailers, Alko and licensed delivery operators, and allows cross-border distance selling from online shops based in the EU or EEA.

Why is alcohol expensive in Finland?

High excise duties, set deliberately to hold consumption down, plus an Alko monopoly on stronger drinks that removes competitive pricing. Many Finns still buy on trips to Estonia, which accounts for well over half of all alcohol brought into the country by travellers.

What is kalsarikännit?

Drinking at home alone in your underwear with no intention of going out. It is a recognised part of Finnish life rather than a confession, and it has its own official emoji.

What is the national drink of Finland?

The Long Drink, lonkero in Finnish. A pre-mixed gin and grapefruit soda created for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, it has become a widely recognised symbol of Finnish drinking culture.

Still figuring it out

Alcohol has a real place in Finnish social life, and Finland has spent a long time working out how to allow for that alongside some serious public health concerns.

The result is a body of law that is detailed, occasionally counterintuitive, and still moving.

101 Very Finnish Problems began as a list of observations about Finnish life. It became a book because the observations kept coming.

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