Eff Valentine’s Day, Embrace Mardi Grove

rBar, located in the Grove area of St. Louis, is quite a ways up the river from New Orleans, but Mardi Gras madness hopped a northbound tugboat this year and transmogrified into Mardi Grove. For the second year in a row, rBar offered patrons a $10 Bloody Mary Bar and beer specials from 9-11 in the morning. They also provided a shuttle to and from nearby Soulard, where there’s traditionally a huge Mardi Gras celebration. With food and drink specials running all day long, some people never leave rBar. “Mardi Gras is basically one big giant party for the city,” says managing partner Leigh-Anne Riebold. “We decided to join in and do our part.” Having won numerous awards, rBar is committed to making itself a front-runner when it comes to special promotions. For Valentine’s Day, rBar catered to those who are not inclined toward candy hearts, mushy cards and flowers by offering an Eff Valentine’s Day Party that featured a Valentine’s edition trivia game, a D J and $4 Effen Vodka Cocktails. 

Carnival, Cachaça and Cash

“Zebulon loves Brazilian music, we regularly have bands from Brazil and own a very large collection of Brazilian music,” says Zebulon Owner Jeff Soubiran. “Carnival is a great time for us to celebrate everything Brazilian with a good band, great DJ, Sagatiba Caipirinhas and fantastic atmosphere.” The bar/café, located in Brooklyn, N.Y., leverages the international holiday as a time to increase guest traffic and drive up beverage sales for specific brands. This year, Sagatiba Cachaça stepped in to sponsor the carnival night and add authenticity straight from Brazil. “Sagatiba is the only cachaça you can find in New York that comes from Brazil,” Soubiran says. “We also have a very good friend who works for Sagatiba, so we thought it will be a good idea.” Music for the event was provided by Eliano Braz e Banda, and guests were invited to try a specialty drink, the Sagatiba Honey Kiss Shot.