La Jolla

A California-inspired brandy sour enhanced with banana liqueur and orange juice for a sun-kissed tropical twist.

La Jolla is a California cocktail that takes its name from one of the most visually striking coastal communities in the American West. La Jolla — pronounced la HOY-a, from the Spanish la joya meaning the jewel — is a neighborhood within the city of San Diego situated on bluffs above the Pacific Ocean, known for its sea caves, the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve to the north, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies founded by Jonas Salk in 1960. The community developed as a resort destination through the early 20th century and became associated with California's distinctive blend of wealth, outdoor beauty, and Mediterranean-influenced leisure culture. The cocktail bearing its name combines cognac with banana liqueur, orange juice, and lemon juice — a fruit-forward California interpretation of the brandy sour format that reflects the mid-20th-century West Coast cocktail tradition of incorporating tropical and subtropical fruit flavors into classic European frameworks. Banana liqueur, available from producers including Marie Brizard and DeKuyper from the early 20th century onward, contributes a sweet, tropical note that is softer and less assertive than the citrus components. The combination of the cognac's stone-fruit complexity, the banana's sweetness, and the two citrus juices produces a drink that is accessible, fruit-forward, and identifiably Californian in its sunny warmth.