Trying to get "just" a single cocktail book can be a bit of a roadblock, I doubt that there is any one single book that can provide all of the possible information you might need.

Gary Regan's "Joy Of Mixology" may be the closest to a single answer. It is more focused on bartenders, or dedicated cocktail enthusiasts, and so has a lot of reading and information contained in its pages, plus a lot of great recipes.

Sometimes, what you are needing is just a good "wad-o-drinks" books. Something that just has a bunch off recipes in it so you can find the recipe for any drink you might hear of. For something like this, perhaps the "Mr. Bostons" books might be a good choice. This volume has been regularly reprinted from the 30's and had been getting a little long in the tooth, but I was involved with it's 2006 reprint, and we were able to breath a some great new life into it.

My own "The Essential Bartenders Guide" has what I think is a good selection of recipes in it, so I have to include that in the list as well.

But I think it is a pretty safe bet that once you have one cocktail book on the shelf, and start to use it, you'll soon be looking for more. :->

Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology is a great all-around cocktail book; enough of the basics to get you through most any kind of gathering, and enough specialty and classic drinks for when you're ready to go deep. And it's very straightforward and unintimidating to use -- that's always my top suggestion.

A great new book is Left Coast Libations, written by Seattle's own Ted Munat with Michael Lazar. It features great bartenders and their creations from all along the West Coast.

the savoy cocktail book has some great classic cocktail's