Nine Lives cocktail bar opens in Bermondsey, London
Renowned drinks agency Sweet&Chilli has opened Nine Lives; a neighbourhood bar full of sublime cocktails, warm welcomes and a killer soundtrack.
Set in a Victorian basement close to London Bridge, Nine Lives will bring some much needed cocktail culture to the foodie district of Bermondsey Street, SE1.
Allan Gage, Emma Hutchison and Tom Soden were inspired by their frequent work with the world’s best bartenders and living by a waste-nothing ethos.
The bar menu at Nine Lives is curated by owner Tom Soden and his consultancy team at Sweet&Chilli.
A sublime collection of drinks, the menu has been inspired by many years behind bars and is categorised by Shorts, Talls, Tarts, Lowriders & Loops.
Loops are drinks where the team have reused key ingredients and given them a new lease of life.
Lemons, for example; the bar uses the skin, oils & juice in cocktails; the bar redistills the pith to produce essential oils which are used in liqueurs and hand soap; the bar balances the pH of the discarded pith/skin/pulp and composts it; the bar uses the compost to fertilise their backyard herb garden.
The creative team behind Nine Lives in LondonM
The name Nine Lives refers to an ethos of salvation – unveiled treasures, nothing wasted, everything lovingly sourced and selected with intention.
Recipes are reinvented from past favourites, ingredients are repurposed to reduce waste, disposables are removed from the bar’s operation, and even the embroidered staff uniforms have been discovered in London’s best vintage shops.
The bold intention here is to drive a positive and sustainable movement within cocktail culture.
Sweet&Chilli founder Allan Gage commented on the project: “Nine Lives is a total passion project.
“It’s a blend of all the things that make Sweet&Chilli tick - superb service, tasty drinks, mad styles & music we love.
“Just a place we want to bring mates to & the proud result of lives spent behind bars.”
Two of the signature cocktails they will be making are:
Signature cocktails include the Moby Dick, a coconut oil-washed grain whisky, with salted caramel syrup, and the Ômu Kooler, which features Campari with a watermelon and cucumber home’ade.