The Best Fancy Olive Oils (for Drizzling, Gifting, and Bragging)

[Seinfeld voice] What’s the deal with fancy olive oil? Ready or not, the world of olive oil has gone the way of natural wine—fancy, design-forward, and a little bit ‘spensi. Hear us out: Sure, you can pick up a jug at the market for $5, but do you actually know what’s in that bottle? It could be extra-virgin (which, let’s be honest, is unlikely for $5), it could be cold-pressed, it could be a blend—but what does any of that even mean?

Let’s cover the basics. There are a few things to look out for when it comes to olive oil, whether you’re spending a few bills or a big wad of cash, and there’s plenty of tricky lingo out there to fool you into thinking a lower-grade oil or oil alternative is just as good as extra virgin. Case in point: if you’re frying a big batch of something, you’re better off side-stepping olive oil and going with a different option like sunflower, avocado, or canola oil (all of which are better for frying than olive oil thanks to their higher smoke point). If you’re looking to leverage the more pronounced taste of olive oil—whether you’re using it as a finishing drizzle or to cook with—always look for extra virgin. “Simply put, extra virgin olive oil has very low acidity. The lower the acidity of the oil, the better its quality," explains olive oil expert Giulia Vittoria Hanke, an organic olive oil producer in Spoleto, Italy. “Extra virgin” also means it has “no defects and must be unrefined, meaning it has never been treated with chemicals or heat,” according to Bon Appétit.

It’s also important that this precious liquid gold be kept in a dark container (and away from heat) that isn’t susceptible to light penetration, as it can make your olive oil go bad more quickly; there’s a reason for all those aesthetic design choices seen on the bottles currently sitting on your nearest grocery store’s olive oil shelf. For this new wave of “fancy” olive oils, the brands manage to emphasize the unique flavors and regional nuances of this kitchen staple—all wrapped in unique, aesthetics-first packaging that’s worthy of holding this precious liquid. Now let’s get into our favorites that will not only zhuzh up your recipes, but also look stunning sitting front-and-center on your kitchen island.

Acid League

Acid League’s pantry staples absolutely honk, says VICE food and kitchen writer Adam Rothbarth. The living vinegars are perfectly funky and spicy, and the hot sauces are simply tasty as hell. The brand’s olive oil uses early-morning harvesting and, naturally, cold pressing to score max flavor. The Arbequina olive oil—an organic single varietal from Spain—tastes like sunshine, grass, and dreams.

Branche

These beautiful ceramic bottles come all the way from a seventh-generation family-owned olive farm in Southern Spain that produces single-sourced extra virgin olive oil from hand-picked Picual, Arbequina, and Hojiblanca olives. It’s also a closed-loop farm that “utilizes water from the wells buried underneath the mountain skirts, runs on solar power, and has become home to wild horses that roam and prune the land,” according to Branche. If that doesn’t sound like heaven on Earth, are you OK? The brand produces two distinctive oils: No. 1 is bold and herbaceous and No. 2 is delicate and buttery.

Brightland

Maybe you’ve seen Brightland’s stark-white bottles with colorful graphics at your local specialty foods shop. It was one of the first brands to pop up on our “luxury olive oil radar,” and we really love its offerings. The brand’s extra-virgin duo features two varieties called “Awake” and “Alive,” which contrast each other nicely—Awake is “bold and robust” and Alive is “smooth and grassy”. Additionally the brand has a ton of exciting infused oils with flavors like chile, garlic, lemon, and basil. Giddyup!

Flamingo Estate

If you don’t know the story of the real-life Flamingo Estate that sits atop the Hollywood Hills in California, it’s a “house for dreaming, making, and full-bodied garden-grown pleasure,” according to the brand. You can check out its Architectural Digest Home Tour, which reveals it was once a “decrepit adult-film studio” that’s been transformed into an oasis with a lush garden filled with organic fruits and vegetables. This produce ends up in its products—everything from soap and candles to pantry staples like its extra virgin olive oil that is sourced and cold-pressed at an organic farm in Ojai, California.

Graza

A chic squeeze bottle? Genius. Not only do we love the functionality of Graza’s “Sizzle” and “Drizzle” extra virgin olive oils, we also love the acid green labels and the fact that we never have to think about when to use each. Sizzle is made from mature mid-season olives that produce a mellow flavor—ideal for cooking—and Drizzle comes from olives that are picked early, yielding a bolder flavor that’s not meant to be heated at high temperatures, but is perfect for finishing and contains a higher level of antioxidants.

Muraglia

We’re gonna go ahead and call Muraglia the Hermès of olive oils. Introduced to this writer by an incredibly wealthy friend’s mom, this is the most beautiful jug of oil I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. Talk about an insanely nice housewarming gift; not only does this extra virgin olive oil come in intricately decorated ceramic bottles, it’s also won numerous awards nationally and internationally.

Pineapple Collaborative

Pineapple Collaborative knows that it’s all about branding. Even if you make the absolute best olive oil on the planet, sent directly from the gods, no one will buy it if it's ugly. The brand sells its California-grown organic extra virgin olive oil in three different colored tins so you can match your bougie oil to your aesthetic kitchen.

Single & Fat

If an olive oil was the hot girl that always skips to the front of lines and gets VIP treatment, it would be Single & Fat. Never seen a hot pink and green paint can full of single-bath olive oil? Now you have. The single-batch, organic extra virgin olive oil is a limited-release that is “ready for anything you’d put in or around your mouth.” Hot. Oh, and they’ve also got some pretty sick merch.

Wonder Valley

In a similar fashion to wine, Wonder Valley’s olive oil changes with each harvest, and the 2022 varietal is made from “a blend of Arbequina, Favalosa, and Tuscan olives hand-picked from the groves in Lake County, CA,” according to the brand. Wonder Valley also produces a limited-edition big bottle every year in which a different artist collaborates on the artwork for the double-sized bottle.

Get to dipping, drizzling, and dousing olive heads.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.