The long vodka was one of the first drinks I encountered when I started going to pubs in Scotland. It was known by all the bar staff and before alcopops entered the mainstream was about the most popular drink for girls. I rarely drank it myself but would often find myself ordering it at the bar when buying rounds.

I moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh when I started university and the long vodka was still readily to be found. It never occurred to me that it was not known all over the world. My first inkling that something was amiss came when I was out in Manchester with some friends and a request for a long vodka was met by a look of blank incomprehension from the barman. This oddity was noted and filed away under 'curious things I've noticed in England'.

Then last year I moved down to the south-east of England, and having a lack of Scottish girls to buy drink for, promptly forgot all about long vodkas. Recently, returning after a trip back from Scotland, my memory was rekindled and I asked my friends and colleagues if they knew what a long vodka was. The closest reply was "Is that like a Long Island iced tea?". Enquiries at several local pubs also proved equally fruitless. So here's what a long vodka is; a drink popular in Scotland. If it exists outside it is by a different name. If you have any information please give me a /msg.

Long Vodka

Coat the inside of a tall glass in angostura. Pour the vodka in, mix with your mixer and stir. Add ice at your discretion.

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