The name is a question, and What If Distillery means it literally. What if Baton Rouge had a distillery making its own whiskey, gin and rum? What if that same still could help other Louisiana brands get their bottles to market? Both answers are pouring today in a tasting room off Airline Highway.

What If sits at 14141 Airline Highway, Suite 4F, inside the Barringer Foreman Tech Park, an office-park cluster that also holds two breweries and another distillery. Founder and master distiller Delos "Lamar" Butler leads the operation, and he and teammate Austen handle the distilling and bottling themselves.

Meet Bayou Blessing

The house label is Bayou Blessing, and the lineup runs wide: bourbon, a barrel-strength bourbon, rye, gin, vodka and a rum distilled from Louisiana sugarcane, plus strawberry, peach and muscadine brandies. Several have picked up medals, including silver for the barrel-strength bourbon at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and silver for both the gin and the strawberry brandy from the American Distilling Institute.

The bottles you might not know are local

What If also distills and bottles for other brands, and its list includes Red Reed Vodka, Riveaux Vodka, Matador Vodka and both United Cajun Navy rums. If you've ordered one of those around town, there's a good chance it came out of this building.

What to order

The cocktail menu leans into Louisiana humor. Alligator Tears pairs vodka, lime and ginger beer. Catfish Bait is a Bloody Mary-style drink garnished with pickled okra. Whiskey fans can try the Juke Joint, made with muddled orange and cherry, and rum drinkers have the minty Cypress Fizz.

The tasting room is open Thursday through Saturday evenings, and tours are free when the team has time, so reach out ahead if a behind-the-scenes look is the main reason you're coming. The space also hosts private parties, which makes it worth a look as holiday party season gets going. Come for a cocktail, and leave knowing a little more about what Baton Rouge makes.

Photo courtesy of What If Distillery.