# What do Finns drink? (St. Urho) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920 "2010-03-09T23:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/1 "2010-03-09T23:04:28Z")
St. Urho’s Day is coming up, March 16th, for the fictitious patron saint of Finland. For those who want to celebrate (everybody Finnish on St. Urho’s day, right?) what do folks in Finland drink? Are you Finnish? Not yet.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/2 "2010-03-10T11:48:02Z")
Finland is in the vodka belt. I guess that says it all. === One Finn to the other “Cheers!”. Response: “Are we here to talk or are we here to drink”. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/3 "2010-03-10T11:52:25Z")
The Finns prefer domestic light white wines, like Koskenkorva 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/4 "2010-03-10T11:55:37Z")
Perhaps I should add that I have never heard of this St Urho you mention and St Urho’s day is unknown in Finland. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/5 "2010-03-10T14:25:52Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Perhaps I should add that I have never heard of this St Urho you mention and St Urho’s day is unknown in Finland. The legend of St. Urho is said to have been started in 1956, approximately, by Finnish-Americans in Virginia and/or Minnesota, in the USA. We celebrate some odd ethnic holidays here, such as Cinco de Mayo, that are insignificant in the countries they honor. > **[St. Urho - Origin](http://www.sainturho.com/origin.htm)** ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/6 "2010-03-10T14:32:43Z")
I live in the area with the [largest Finnish population](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pct_finnish4.png)in the US. On the whole, St. Urho’s day is not celebrated here. I’m not saying not at all… you do see the occasional “Have a drink for St. Urho” the day before St. Patrick’s day, but in general St. Patrick’s Day overshadows everything. As far as what the Finns drink… they drink everything, but like most people up here, they tend to like cheap beer and brandy the best. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/7 "2010-03-10T19:26:35Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The legend of St. Urho is said to have been started in 1956, approximately, by Finnish-Americans in Virginia and/or Minnesota, in the USA. We celebrate some odd ethnic holidays here, such as Cinco de Mayo, that are insignificant in the countries they honor. > > [St. Urho - Origin](http://www.sainturho.com/origin.htm) That would actually be the city of [Virginia, Minnesota](http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=virginia,+minnesota&fb=1&gl=us&ei=CvKXS-jHMJiwiwPdg53uAQ&ved=0CBUQpQY&hl=en&view=map&geocode=Fbwl1QIdBQF8-g&split=0&hq=&hnear=Virginia,+St.+Louis,+Minnesota&ll=47.528097,-92.536469&spn=0.106638,0.308647&z=12&iwloc=A). I’ve always had some sort of St. Urho’s Day party 😃 I’ll be drinking beer and/or vodka. ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/8 "2010-03-10T22:54:32Z")
You’ll need the following: Vodka. Lots of vodka. A sauna. No clothes. Icy lake for skinny dipping. Birch twigs. Profound melancholy. More vodka. Tango lessons. Knife optional (for fights later). [Further instructions here.](http://tango.yyquest.net/2009/12/15/finnish-tango/) Finnish drinking song, for added authenticity: “Now!” Finnish dopers: Olen pahoillani, I love you all dearly, I really do. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/9 "2010-03-11T07:09:16Z")
**toodlepip** , I think you left out some vodka. 😉 When you get tired of tango you can always do dome disco dancing: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyArZjWbbfM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyArZjWbbfM) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/10 "2010-03-11T11:01:43Z")
Vodka salmiakka (I hope that’s the right spelling) is what my Finnish friends were very fond of. Strong liquorice disolved in vodka. One of those lethal drinks where you don’t taste any alcohol and don’t notice anything until you try to get up and the room spins around. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/11 "2010-03-11T11:10:06Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Vodka salmiakka (I hope that’s the right spelling) Almost there. It’s salmiakki. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/12 "2010-03-11T12:03:14Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The legend of St. Urho is said to have been started in 1956, approximately, by Finnish-Americans in Virginia and/or Minnesota, in the USA. We celebrate some odd ethnic holidays here, such as Cinco de Mayo, that are insignificant in the countries they honor. > > [St. Urho - Origin](http://www.sainturho.com/origin.htm) I had no idea. This is really awesome. Wiki has a great article about it too, noting that the original day was May 24, but the inventors moved it to March 16 so they’d get two days of drinking back to back. I love St. Urho. I’m excited to celebrate my first Feast of St. Urho. > **[Saint Urho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Urho#Saint_Urho)** > > Saint Urho (Finnish: Pyhä Urho \[ˈpyhæ ˈurho\]) is a fictional saint of Finland, created and elaborated by Finnish Americans in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s, to celebrate their heritage and extend celebrations of Saint Patrick's Day. His celebration day is set to March 16, the day before the March 17 feast day of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick's feast day is celebrated by Irish Americans, of whom there are also many in Minnesota. > The legend of Saint Urho was the invention of a Finnish American na... ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/13 "2010-03-11T12:41:20Z")
I think the correct answer to this is “anything and everything”. However, for an authentic Finnish experience, I would recommend [Koskenkorva](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Koskenkorva50cl.jpg), [Salmiakki Koskenkorva](http://www.metalfromfinland.com/img/salmiakkikossu.jpg) or salmari as it is known, or the big hit in Finnish bars over the past few years, [fisu](http://zoller.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/51608_5002.jpg), made by dissolving Fisherman’s Friends in Koskenkorva. (If you think salmari is lethal, you have obviously never tasted fisu.) The common pattern, as you may have noticed here, is Koskenkorva. For a really authentic experience, drink it lukewarm and straight out of the bottle after keeping the bottle in your jacket’s inner pocket for about two hours and trying to hide it from security. Finns also drink lots and lots (and lots) of [lonkero](http://www.olvi.fi/fileserver/_ALeCoq_lonkero_03.jpg), which is traditionally made my mixing (usually) gin with (usually) grapefruit lemonade. Lonkero was invented for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics so that bars would have ready-mixed long drinks available for Olympic visitors. Try it. It’s truly Finnish. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/14 "2010-03-11T12:55:49Z")
**auRa** , You have given me some ideas for tomorrow’s trip to Helsinki together with some Scottish friends. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/15 "2010-03-11T13:06:45Z")
I was entertaining some Swedish musicians from Göteborg a few years ago during a music festival and they went absolutely nuts over lonkero. “What…what is this… this…how do you say it, lånkerå? Lååååååååånkerå. Martin! We have to take one of those cruise ships, she says you can buy them buy the case there.” Welcome to Helsinki, by the way. I hope we have enough booze to last the Scots. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/16 "2010-03-12T11:08:24Z")
I mentioned this discussion to someone yesterday and the response was: Don’t forget [minttu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minttu)! ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/17 "2010-03-12T11:53:06Z")
Ah, of course I should have mentioned minttukaakao. That’s mostly drunk on the slopes or during after-ski, though. For general purposes, I’d still go with the previously-mentioned beverages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/18 "2010-03-12T12:18:58Z")
_sniffle_ I miss Finland. Last time I was there, I was subjected to the “Finnis sauna eksperiens” which involved trying to cram as many people as possible into a sauna and then getting shitfaced on lonkero. ---
**Author:** ![GreatStuffMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f04885/32.png) [@GreatStuffMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatStuffMan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/19 "2010-03-12T13:33:36Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I mentioned this discussion to someone yesterday and the response was: Don’t forget [minttu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minttu)! I was just about to bring Minttu up. It’s great! ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-finns-drink-st-urho/531920/20 "2010-03-12T18:55:11Z")
Another vote for the Minttu. There is only one god, and thy name is Minttu.