Analysing transcripts of survey interview episodes, this paper examines the ways in which older people in Finland talk about their use of alcohol. It also aims to shed light on the meaning of alcohol use in the context of social ageing.

The use of alcohol was described in forty structured interviews with people aged 60–89 years. They provided accounts of drinking situations or contexts, or juxtaposed their own drinking habits with that of ‘others’. Perceptions of these ‘others’ were constructed by interviewees from cultural stereotypes of Finnish drinking habits.

Descriptions of alcohol use were embedded in everyday life and cultural frames rather than in those of old age or ageing. In the context of social ageing, alcohol use appeared in these interviews as a cultural indicator, reflecting the cultural habits and norms attached to drinking. As a social indicator, it suggested that advanced age is losing its significance as an independent factor distinguishing lifestyles.