Meet Sebastian Krunderup from Denmark, The Journey's finalist
1- Tell us about yourselves and where you work
The place I work at is called Duck & Cover. It’s a small, cosy bar, located at Dannebrogsgade 6, Vesterbro in Copenhagen. The bar’s interior and vibe takes from the Danish mid-century modern minimalism. A lot of the inspiration came from Kaspers (Riewe, the owner) grandparents home.
At D&C you get greeted and seated, served at the table. In our opinion, there’s too many bars in Denmark, where you stand like fish in a barrel. At our place we never let more people in than we have seats. You should be able to have a seat, enjoy your drink and have a good time with your friends, without someone soaking your shoe with beer, and not be able to hear what the person next to you is saying.
Our attitude is very down to earth and laid back, with an eye for detail and good service. As for our drinks we try to use as much local products that make sense. The menu is seasonal, which means it roughly changes every second month, and we try to at least always have two or three drinks with aquavit on every menu. We are a Scandinavian bar, so it only makes sense.
I’ve been in the hospitality industry for 13 years, the last six years behind the bar. Besides working with people, I find it very interesting working with flavour. How you can provoke sensations and memories through taste.
2- Who do you look up to in the drink industry?
I’m not sure whether I’ve ever looked up to anyone in the drink industry. But I remember reading an article about Kasper back in late 2012 and thinking: I would like to work with that guy one day. After a few months at D&C, I really came to enjoy learning from another guy at the bar, Rasmus (Poulsgaard).
But, I do admire people who are not only good at their craft, but also try to improve the industry for everyone. People who not just sees it as a brief job, but as a way of being creative and pushing the boundaries of the perception of drinks in its many ways.
3- What are you doing when you are not behind the bar?
I love flavours - to me it’s one of the fastest ways to an emotion. So naturally, I’m very fond of being in the kitchen and in the garden. Whenever a need to clear my head I go fishing with some friends or family.
4- Tell us briefly about the idea behind your Linie cocktail
The idea for my drink sort of came through from history of aquavit and how we’ve been drinking in Denmark and the traditions around aquavit.
5- When was your first meeting with Linie aquavit? Tell us about it.
My first encounter with aquavit was at a traditional coffee & cake table in the western part of Jutland, where my family is from. Here I had a taste of a traditional Coffee Punch. Whether it was with Linie aquavit or not, I’m not sure.
Otherwise my first encounter with Linie has probably been at a Christmas or Easter lunch, but I’m not really sure. My memory of it is not that clear, you see, there was a lot of aquavit.
6- What do you like about mixing cocktails with Linie aquavit?
The reaction from Danes whenever they get drinks based on aquavit. Linie aquavit for its diversity in drinks.
7- Why did you join Linie – The Journey competition?
I remember one of the first things we talked about at my job interview at Duck & Cover, was: what makes a Danish/Scandinavian bartender? Which ingredients and pairings can we use to showcase what’s the unique flavours and traditions in Scandinavia are? How can we to create an experience that only you/the bar can provide?
For me the Linie competitions is one of the right competitions to showcase these thought.
8- What is your next project after the competition?
Hopefully to make an aquavit with Ivan Abrahamsen!
Right now we have a quite interesting little project at the bar concerning aquavit, snaps, and Scandinavian flavors, which is going to run until end of October, start November.
9- Without giving anything away, what is going to impress to judges during the final?
Hopefully the drink itself, the history and tradition behind it, and the experience.
Thanks for answering our questions, and good luck !
