In this episode we sat down with the Cocktail Wonk himself, Matt Pietrek, to dive into his and Carrie Smith's new 850-page opus on Caribbean rum, Modern Caribbean Rum: A Contemporary Reference to the Region's Essential Spirit. Along the way, we also discussed his journey from software engineering to full-time rum work, the current state of rum, and much more, including:Which rum-making countries proved to be the hardest to write aboutSurprising things learned in the course of writing the bookLessons learned from multiple adventures in self publishingWhat makes this book different from other commonly recommended reads on rumHow working with WIRSPA has broadened his perspective on rumThe future of molasses productionAssessing past rum predictionsWhether he likes Star Trek or notAnd moreIf you'd like to check out the book, head over to: https://www.wonkpress.com/products/modern-caribbean-rumThis episode is sponsored by Down Island Spirits, a brand new independent rum bottler that has just launched the first releases in its Single Cask Rum Series in the U.S. Click here to check out and order their initial 4 releases.P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.