I suppose it depends how they measure it, how they collect their figures. Does it include imported alcohol for example, and as we know you guys import a lot from Estonia. One report on Finnish consumption claimed that about 1/5th of consumption doesn’t figure in the Finnish consumption stats.

For the benefit of others “kalsarikännit” is basically getting wasted at home. Translates as “underwear drunkenness” or something like that. Am I right Laura? “tiukka viina” is the hard stuff.

Anyways, you are very right about kalsarikännit and tiukka viina. When I arrived in Ireland in 2002, I was disgusted to find that your so-called shot is only 2,5cl (compared to 4cl in Finnish bar). Now I couldn’t care less.

Laura,
Thx. I also do stand-up. Shows week nights @ 9pm and Saturdays @ 7pm and 10pm. Admission free if you’re good looking.

Thing is, we’ve been told for years that we’re one of the biggest drinking nations in Europe, always in the top 3. Ii think a difference might be that we drink lots of beer but you guys like your hard liquor and drink at home a lot more than we would.
Here’s a report on alcohol consumption in Europe, it shows litres per person per year, figures for adults age 15 and up, year is 2001. They put Ireland in 3rd place but Finland back in 20th.
Reports can be downloaded here: reports

When I try to an Irish person explain that the Finns drink even more than the Irish, I get the feeling that they don’t really believe me. I don’t think there is a Finnish expression for binge drinking, since there’s hardly any other kind of drinking in the country.