In Conversation With: Mixen Lindberg, Phantom Spirits

Phantom Spirits is a Danish independent bottler founded in 2016. With a bottle shop come bar space in Copenhagen and interesting releases including some firsts in the rum world, we were excited to see a selection of their bottles appear in our May 2023 auction. We took the opportunity to sit down with founder Mixen Lindberg to hear more about the company…

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background…

I am originally a musician, who ended up in the beer and spirits industry by coincidence and stuck around. I still play music, but am not quite as active anymore.

[DK] Jeg er oprindelig musiker, som endte i øl- og spiritusbranchen ved en tilfældighed og blev hængende. Jeg spiller stadig musik, men er ikke lige så aktiv som tidligere. 

How did you come to work with independent bottlings and found Phantom Spirits?

The idea for Phantom Spirits arose about ten years ago following a project I worked on for COPENHELL, a Danish festival with a music profile towards the harder end of the spectrum. They were on the look out for a yearly spirit, preferably with some oomph, so we distilled vodka on goat's skulls, mezcal on rattle snakes, and made a crazy absinthe with various different versions. Working on that project gave me a taste for it, and then it wasn’t too big a leap from the idea stage to getting going. 

[DK] Ideen til Phantom Spirits opstod i kølvandet på et projekt, jeg arbejdede på for COPENHELL, en dansk festival med en musikprofil i den hårde ende af skalaen, for små 10 år siden. De skulle bruge en årlig spiritus, gerne med lidt gang i den, så vi destillerede vodka på gedekranier, mezcal på klapperslanger, og lavede en vanvittig absinth i forkellige udgaver. At lave de projekter, gav mig blod på tanden, og så var der ikke langt fra tanke til handling. 

What are the thoughts and inspirations behind Phantom Spirits?

To work across the industry, with different types of distillation and methods. Partnerships with exciting and creative people, to constantly be learning and have fun at the same time. I love the freedom that working on small productions offers, as it gives the chance to constantly develop. 

[DK] At arbejde på kryds og tværs af brancher, stilarter og metoder. Samarbejde med spændende og kreative mennesker, tilegne sig konstant vide, og samtidig have det sjovt. Jeg elsker friheden i at arbejde med små produktioner, som giver mulighed for konstant udvikling. 

Have you experienced a spirit-cask combination that has really surprised you?

I made an absinthe-cask rum, bottled at full strength, for COPENHELL, which was pretty mental! A lot was going on, haha. 

[DK] Jeg lavede en absint-fadlagret rom, tappet ved fuld styrke, til COPENHELL, som var rimelig sindssyg. Der skete virkelig meget, haha. 

You released the first rum ever with a champagne cask finish, which is included in our May auction. What do wine casks offer rum?

Wine casks are really good fun to work with, and they add a completely different dimension to the finished product, in comparison to what you usually get with classical cask types. Depending on the kind of wine, you can catch flavours such as fruit, flowers, sweetness, sourness and a surprise or two. 

[DK] Vinfade er virkelig sjove at arbejde med, og de tilføjer en helt anden dimension til slutproduktet, end de mere klassiske fadtyper.  Afhængig af vintypen, kan man fange frugter, blomster, sødme, syre og en overraskelse eller to.  

Denmark has gained some really interesting alcohol startups in the last 20 years. You have releases made in collaboration with Stauning (Whisky), Mikeller (Beer),Den Klodsede Bjørn (Vodka) and more- how is it to work within the Danish alcohol industry today?

It is a pleasure to be able to work with the various local producers. There is both team spirit, healthy competition and a good amount of social activity coming from different directions.

[DK] Det er en fornøjelse, fortsat at kunne arbejde sammen med forskellige, lokale producenter. Der er både holdånd, sund konkurrence og en god portion social aktivitet på kryds og tværs.