Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan is a comprehensive guide to the craft of cocktail-making, built around a systematic approach that helps readers understand, recreate, modify, and invent drinks. Published by Ten Speed Press in 2018, the 320-page hardcover introduces six fundamental “root cocktails”—the Old-Fashioned, Martini, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Whisky Highball, and Flip—and demonstrates how a huge range of classic and modern cocktails can be understood through these foundational templates.

The book breaks cocktail construction into three essential elements: core, balance, and seasoning. It explains why ingredients work together, when to shake or stir, how substitutions affect a drink, and how to develop variations from established formulas. Beyond recipes, it explores advanced bartending techniques such as infusions, syrups, clarified juices, alternative acids, and carbonated cocktails, making it valuable for both serious home bartenders and professional mixologists. The book won the 2019 James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year and the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book.