Matt Pietrek charts his professional path as “a slow evolution from Microsoft to rum.” Starting “with a modest home bar that grew out of control,” he soon began writing as “The Cocktail Wonk.” In 2016 he and his wife, Carrie Smith, declared “This is what we want to do for the rest of our lives.” After struggling to find a publisher for their first book, “Minimalist Tiki,” they decided to create Wonk Press and self-publish. “We started writing it in November 2018…in early April 2019, we sent it off to the printer…got in our car and drove to New Orleans.” Wonk Press recently released “Modern Caribbean Rum.” He notes that one perk of being a New Orleans resident is “It’s nice to have so many other rum luminaries around like Wayne Curtis and Jeff Berry, even if i don’t see them all the time…I feel I am amongst other geeks.”
Mr. Black & Gold
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce passion fruit syrup
1 ounce coffee liqueur
1 ounce aged rum
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a tiki mug or double Old Fashioned glass. Top with fresh crushed ice.
Garnish with pineapple fronds, a pineapple slice, and an orchid.
- Just about any coffee liqueur will work, including locally made River Basin Coffee Cordial.
- Fresh pineapple juice works best, but bottled or canned juice is OK in a pinch. Either way, strain the juice through a chinois strainer and then metal coffee filter, because the pulp impacts flavor.
- This recipe is created by Matt’s friend, Brian Maxwell, as a tribute to his two favorite football teams, the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
