Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions [A Cocktail Recipe Book]

by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan

Overview

From the authors of the bestselling and genre-defining cocktail book Death & Co, Cocktail Codex is a comprehensive primer on the craft of mixing drinks that employs the authors’ unique “root cocktails” approach to give drink-makers of every level the tools to understand, execute, and improvise both classic and original cocktails.

JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • WINNER OF THE TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARD® FOR BEST NEW COCKTAIL OR BARTENDING BOOK • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“There are only six cocktails.” So say Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan, the visionaries behind the seminal craft cocktail bar Death & Co. In Cocktail Codex, these experts reveal for the first time their surprisingly simple approach to mastering cocktails: the “root recipes,” six easily identifiable (and memorizable!) templates that encompass all cocktails: the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip. Once you understand the hows and whys of each “family,” you'll understand why some cocktails work and others don't, when to shake and when to stir, what you can omit and what you can substitute when you're missing ingredients, why you like the drinks you do, and what sorts of drinks you should turn to—or invent—if you want to try something new.
 
Praise for Cocktail Codex
 
“Learn the template, and any cocktail you can think of is within reach.”—Food & Wine

“Too bad all college textbooks weren’t this much fun.”—Garden & Gun

“A must for amateur and pro mixologists alike.”—Chicago Tribune
 
“If Dora the Explorer turned twenty-one, split herself into three people, and decided to write the Magna Carta of booze books, this would be the result. And, unlike every other book you’ll read this year, Cocktail Codex is packed with actual knowledge you can use in the real world. Please, please, can Cinema Codex be next?”—Steven Soderbergh, filmmaker

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607749707
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	22,454
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Alex Day and David Kaplan are the co-owners of the Los Angeles-based Proprietors LLC, a fullservice hospitality company (Death & Co, Nitecap, Walker Inn, Honeycut, the Normandie Club, and more). Nick Fauchald is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and publisher of print and digital products.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION 
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Cocktail Codex"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Alex Day.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

07/02/2018
Bar mavens Kaplan and Day reunite with writer Fauchald in this excellent follow-up to their 2014 guide, Death & Co. Here they offer a deconstructionist deep dive into the crafting of cocktails, complete with flowcharts and attention paid to each element of the process, from the balancing of flavors to the temperature of the glassware. They begin with the concept that there are six root cocktails from which all others descend: the old-fashioned, the martini, the daiquiri, the sidecar, the whisky highball, and the flip (“a drink comprised of booze, sugar, and whole egg”). Each of these gets its own chapter wherein the classic version is analyzed and followed by variations. For example, the old fashioned, at its essence, is defined as “booze that’s been sweetened with sugar and seasoned with bitters.” Proceeding ingredient by ingredient, as if adjusting the levels on a sound board, the drink’s components are manipulated. Bourbon is replaced by raisin-infused scotch in a Golden Boy; maraschino liqueur becomes the sweetener in a Fancy-free; and toasted pecan bitters replace the traditional aromatic in a Night Owl. The classic martini, meanwhile, becomes the Dean Martin with addition of brandy and two types of vermouth. Experienced cocktail makers looking to take a deeper dive into mixology will find this to be a wonderfully detailed volume.(Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Learn the template, and any cocktail you can think of is within reach.”—Food & Wine

“Too bad all college textbooks weren’t this much fun.”—Garden & Gun

“A must for amateur and pro mixologists alike.”—Chicago Tribune (Ten Best Cookbooks of the Year)

“If Dora the Explorer turned twenty-one, split herself into three people, and decided to write the Magna Carta of booze books, this would be the result. And, unlike every other book you’ll read this year, Cocktail Codex is packed with actual knowledge you can use in the real world. Please, please, can Cinema Codex be next?”—Steven Soderbergh, filmmaker
 
“Alex, Dave, Nick, and Devon do an incredible job at teaching us the basic building blocks of modern cocktails. Their unique insight gives us the tools to master the classics and create new recipes. This book is a must for all young bartenders and veterans alike.”—Leo Robitschek, Bar Director, The Nomad
 
“Cocktail Codex gives the drink enthusiast a comprehensive, fun, and complete look into the fundamentals of cocktails and the illustrations, stories, and background information give the reader a look into the world of professional drink making at its best. I strongly recommend picking this book up and flipping through the pages with your favorite cocktail in hand.”—Grant Achatz, Chef/Co-Owner Alinea, Next, the Aviary, the Office

From the Publisher