Every man a king

The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center has turned the tunnel made famous by Huey Long into a private, upscale entertainment space. BY EMILY KERN HEBERT

DOWN UNDER: The reimagined tunnel is meant to evoke feelings of the late 1920s and 1930s, when Huey Long reigned politically supreme in Louisiana.

CURIOUS ABOUT THE neon sign for “The Tunnel,” guests of the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center who wander down into the basement find themselves face-to-face with a unique part of Louisiana history.

Though built as a practical way to connect two hotels—The Heidelberg Hotel (now the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center) and The King Hotel (now the Hotel Indigo)—located across from each other on Lafayette Street, the tunnel gained notoriety because of rumors it was used by Gov. Huey P. Long in the early 1930s to escape the media and hide his mistresses from public view.

Long kept an unofficial residence in one of the Heidelberg’s suites, and the details of many business deals are said to have been worked out in the hotel’s Hunt Room. The hotel also served as the Louisiana State Capitol during a dispute between Long and Lt. Gov. Paul Cyr. When Long was elected as senator, he refused to relinquish his duties as governor and Cyr set up operations in the hotel. The tunnel was called “Peacock Alley” during this time because it was adorned with colorful tile that resembled peacock feathers.

The tunnel has been reimagined by the Hilton Capitol Center as an elegant space for private

FILE PHOTO

dinner parties and other upscale events. Meant to evoke feelings of the 1920s and 30s, it features exposed brick walls and an antique bar with an absinthe fountain, along with a portrait of Long and other historic images.

Right now, the space is primarily being reserved for rehearsal dinners, as well as a space for grooms and groomsmen to gather on the wedding day, says Leslie Thompson, director of sales and marketing for the Hilton Capitol Center. “When the brides and bridesmaids are getting ready in our big mezzanine suite, the guys can hang out here,” Thompson says. “They can plug into the smart TV and watch a game down here and have a really nice experience.”

Thompson says the hotel has plans to begin offering live entertainment in The Tunnel by mid-October. A one or two-person music group works well in the space, as do high-end cocktails in the attractive antique bar, she says.

For private dinners of 20 guests or less, the hotel offers an elaborate multicourse dinner in the space served on fine China with Long’s monogram, and crystal and silver that is used only in The Tunnel. “It’s a very elevated experience like you would have had in the ‘20s and ‘30s when they had those opulent multicourse dinners,” she says.

A murder mystery series is also in the works that will incorporate Long as one of the characters. The custom script is being developed by writer and history buff Larry Schexnadre, who has worked on similar events for Nottoway Plantation. It will be performed by actors with Center Stage Performing Arts Academy.

Thompson envisions some 40 guests gathering in The Tunnel for cocktails and a meet-andgreet with the actors. The ticket will include a craft cocktail, four-course meal, and wine with dinner. Dinner will take place upstairs because of access to the kitchen and because it’s easier for the actors to communicate when guests are seated at dinner. The actors will perform a scene in between each course of the meal. Everyone at a table will get a separate card with a question to ask an actor and then report back to their group to try and solve the murder. The winning team will receive more time in The Tunnel and a tunnel-themed prize.

Thompson, a wine enthusiast, also leads wine tastings with guests who would like to learn about the different varieties of wine and why to order one type over another when dining.

The hotel is planning an add-on experience to its popular New Year’s Eve party, which will have a Great Gatsby theme this year. The Secret Tunnel Experience will feature a fourcourse dinner on fine China and crystal in The Tunnel.

When designing the space, Thompson said she wanted it to be a versatile because she wasn’t sure where its function was going to land.

“It’s kind of an ‘if you build it, they will come’ thing,” she says. “Everyone who comes down here says, ‘Is this a speakeasy?’ The answer to that is I think we would definitely consider it, but if we do it, we’re going to do it right.”

The true speakeasies of today are often hidden inside another restaurant or venue or have “a whole bunch of weirdness where you’ve got to try to find a way to get inside,” she says. The hotel staff has talked about installing a bookcase at the opening of the room to close it off. But for now, Thompson says she likes it when people see the neon sign and wander in.

While guests can explore the part of the tunnel on the Hilton’s property, it is sealed off with what appears to be concrete, Thompson says.

A route from the other hotel would make the most sense for a speakeasy, Thompson says.

“What would that entail? I have no idea,” she says, “but it’s probably harder than I think.”

TOURING ‘THE TUNNEL’

COLLIN RICHIE

Distilling the Oxbow story

Olivia Stewart never figured on living in Louisiana again and the art history major certainly didn’t think her fight to save a family-owned company would make her a pioneer in the premium craft rum business. BY DAVID JACOBS

LOUISIANA NATIVE OLIVIA

Stewart never expected to live in her home state again. She had built a career in the New York art world and generally loved the work.

But after COVID-19 chased her back to the Pointe Coupee sugar farm where she grew up, she realized she wasn’t challenged by her job at a Manhattan art consultancy. And while she didn’t come home looking for a challenge, that’s exactly what she found.

Stewart is now president of Oxbow Rum Distillery, formerly Cane Land Distilling and Three Roll Estate. Based in downtown Baton Rouge, the company has at times been on the verge of shutting down—having gone through leadership changes, layoffs and multiple rebranding efforts.

But with new partners and a new name, Oxbow is on the path to sustainability, Stewart says. The company’s story—making high-quality craft rum from some of the world’s best sugar cane direct from her family’s farm—is as compelling as ever, and the new brand is meant to emphasize those roots.

Stewart also sees a bigger opportunity for the state as a whole. Kentucky bourbon is popular enough to be a tourist attraction; why not Louisiana rum?

Rum is often associated with fruity drinks by the beach and kitschy cartoon pirates. But premium rum also can provide a refined, complex sipping experience much like a well-crafted bourbon. And much like a Napa Valley wine, the experience will vary based on where and how it’s made.

“We want to change the image of rum,” she says. “Oxbow can be a pioneer.”

DESPERATE TIMES

Stewart grew up at Alma, where her family has been farming sugar cane for generations. Her best friend was her dog, and she recalls running through the fields pretending to be a runaway.

“It was very unique,” she says. “I didn’t know it was unique until I was a little bit older.”

Stewart attended Dunham in Baton Rouge before leaving for boarding school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at age 15. She went on to study art history and earn a master’s degree in art business.

Other than a brief stint bartending in New Orleans, Stewart tread a focused career path. She worked at two Manhattan galleries and another in Los Angeles before moving back to New York to join the art consulting firm.

In early March of 2020, New York started shutting down businesses and events as part of the global effort to control the spread of COVID-19. Stewart and her fiancé, Revel Griffith, whom she met in New Orleans, realized there was plenty of space and fresh air at Alma, so they rented a car and headed south.

“Once I got here, I realized the help that was needed with the distillery,” she says.

While “single-estate” rum distilleries, where the producers grow their own sugar cane, are rare in the U.S., they are common in other sugar-producing regions. Stewart’s cousin started Cane Land Distilling in that spirit in 2016, though he would step away from the company for what she describes as personal reasons.

Her father, Alma CEO David Stewart, stepped in to lead the company. While he had turned Alma from the lowest-producing sugar farm in the state to the highest, a distillery is a “whole different beast,” she says.

“He did the best he could,” she says, adding that he was nearing semi-retirement age. “I realized it was chipping away at him.”

A trademark issue led Cane Land to rebrand to Three Roll Estate, named after the three-roll mill that crushes the cane. The change set the company back, David Stewart told Daily Report in 2019. At the time, it was launching a rum-themed line of food products and working to expand distribution into several states.

Though the distillery and Alma technically are separate businesses, the latter was subsidizing the former. While no one associated with Alma wanted the distillery to fail, floating the new business indefinitely wasn’t ideal either.

Olivia Stewart says her father had to lay off a lot of people when the pandemic hit. Three Roll took the opportunity to pull back from states where sales were weak and focus on Louisiana.

“Desperate” is how she describes her first year. “I had to run it nearly every day not knowing if we would be open the next.”

But she found many of her skills translated to the new industry. Running galleries and managing teams builds leadership ability, while curating shows speaks to the ability to brand and market.

And in March 2021, things started to look up. As COVID-19 vaccines were becoming available, she met new partners with deep industry experience and a desire to grow together.

“Our team has a history of building successful spirits brands,” says Kris Comstock, CEO of Stockwell Reserve.

Based in Kentucky, Stockwell Reserve is a new effort to create a

SWEET STORY: Olivia Stewart, who left a career in the New York art world during the pandemic, is out to make Louisiana rum as famous as Kentucky bourbon.

craft distiller cooperative, meant to help small players pool their resources to compete in the national marketplace. While the exact nature of the business relationship with Oxbow is proprietary—though Stewart stresses the company has not been bought out and she retains the final say—Stockwell provides strategic growth capital, a shared sales team, marketing chops and distribution help.

Comstock, who has a background working with major whiskey brands, says Oxbow has a “fantastic” product and a marketable story to tell.

“There is no one else that I know of that’s using the quality of sugar cane to make Grade A molasses to produce rum of this quality,” he says. “She has the opportunity to use the best of the best because of the sugar cane estate.”

A FRESH START

On Sept. 1, Three Roll Estate rebranded again, and the company officially became Oxbow Rum Distillery. Some products still will be sold in Louisiana with the Three Roll label, but the truly premium stuff that the company wants to introduce to the world will carry the Oxbow name.

An “oxbow” in this context is a stream, river or creek that has become separated from the flow of water, such as False River in Pointe Coupee, which is responsible for the fertile topsoil that nurtures Alma’s cane. The new name highlights the farm-tobottle business model.

“I wanted to connect it back to the land, because that land is so precious,” Stewart says.

Today, the company employs about 10 people. Stewart is the face of the company and chief strategist, while Griffith, whom she married in May, focuses on internal matters. She says sales are up almost 200% this year, exceeding pre-pandemic numbers.

Though Stewart is optimistic about growth, she would like to see Louisiana loosen regulations that make her job harder. For instance, while Oxbow can host private events in its downtown tasting room, it is not allowed to serve food or alcohol that isn’t produced there. It also cannot ship directly to consumers.

At the national level, a lack of regulation creates challenges. The big rum brands are allowed to cut corners—such as adding caramel coloring to make aged rum look darker—without telling the consumer, which makes it harder for a distiller that makes rum the traditional way to stand out.

But while consumer education may be a work in progress, the aficionados are already sold. Oxbow has racked up numerous awards; most recently, its rhum agricole took “best in class” at the American Distilling

Institute’s 2022 International

Spirits Competition.

The agricole-style rum is perhaps the purest expression of why the single-estate approach matters. While most rum is made with shelf-stable molasses, it can be made only with fresh-pressed juice, which means the cane needs to come straight from the farm.

The marketing benefit for Oxbow from all the awards is likely limited by the fact that they were won under a different name, though that doesn’t seem to bother Stewart. She is ready to go win them again.

DON KADAIR BETTER TOGETHER: Partnering with Stockwell Reserve in Kentucky, Olivia Stewart hopes to more quickly grow Oxbow Rum Distillery, formerly known as Cane Land Distilling and Three Roll Estate.