what olives should I get for martinis

[Bombtrack]

I don't like olives in salad so I've never baught them before. I do like most Martinis I've ever had though (both regular and dirty) with Olives as a garnish.

I suspect the kind you put in Salads aren't interchangable with cocktail ones, or am I mistaken?

Do cocktail olives all come in vermouth? I just want the most commonly used kind for the basic martini to make at home and not pay 7 bucks for it at a bar.

[nolabear]

1. Spanish Queens or Manzanilla Queens in brine, not oil.

It's basic and delicious. You can get Vermouth soaked ones but I think Vermouth is a total waste of time.

[kentauros]

2. This guy seems to know his stuff on martinis:

http://www.thebachelorguy.com/food/stuff-a-stuffed-olive-in-your-martini.html

I'm not a martini-drinker, but do like looking for "Bachelor Pad" info, such as the following:

"Here's How To Mix The Perfect Cocktail"

Hope that helps :D

[hifiguy]

3. I am partial to the ones stuffed with blue cheese

from Santa Barbara Olive Co (?) in a vodka martini.

[HopeHoops]

9. Those are excellent - and so are the ones stuffed with garlic (same company).

[Paladin]

11. Blue Cheese Olives, Gin Martini. (n/t)

[Paladin]

12. Self-Deleted, Duplicate. (n/t)

[Moondog]

4. I keep two sorts of martini olives in stock.

The first is a jar of large green olives stuffed with Bleu Cheese. Just checked, they're put out by the Santa Barbara Olive Company, but basically they're the brand sold in my local Publix (grocery chain here in FL).

I also keep a jar (although I seem to be out at the moment, so I don't know what brand) of the largest green olives I can find, stuffed with pimientos, and packed in brine. When I get them home, I open the jar and pour out all the brine. And in its place I pour in dry vermouth (I favor Noilly Prat, but some prefer Martini & Rossi or other brands), and cap the jar off. Since I like my martinis quite dry, this eliminates the need to add vermouth to the vodka or gin (unless one wants to make a show out of building the martini for some reason). And since I keep my vodka and gin in the freezer, I don't need ice either, which hurries things along nicely.

However, I also keep small pickled cocktail onions around should I want a Gibson instead of a Martini. Oh, and a jar of hot pickled whole okra, should an old friend of mine who hails from Texas stop by and demand alcohol. She, for some strange reason known only unto her, favors a Martini with one of these vegetative travesties in it, instead of an olive. I indulge her in this, for she has many redeeming virtues; although this decidedly is not one of them.

[nolabear]

5. That hot pickeld okra is teh AWESOME! What brand do you get?

I can never find them and lust after them frequently, in vodka martinis and out.

[Moondog]

6. Well,

I just went to look, and upon finding a label-less jar, I remembered that the last time the lady in question was by she talked me into letting her soak the label off the jar to take home with her. Said she didn't want to forget the brand. As I recall, she was pretty well oiled at the time.

:blush:

Sorry. But Publix usually has a couple of brands of those. I picked the ones that looked the most like something that actually grew - greener, plumper, etc.

[Moondog]

14. I was just over at Publix for a sushi fix, and I checked on the hot pickled okra

brand - "Talk 'O Texas"

[Moondog]

15. Just checked my store while I was over there -

"Mezzetta" is the best brand in this area for the large olives stuffed with pimientos packed in plain brine.

[yellerpup]

7. I made green olives stuffed with fire-roasted seranno

peppers for my brother-in-law. I bought the pitted, but unstuffed olives at the grocery store, roasted a batch of pepper, cut them into strips then stuffed those in the hole. Steve went crazy for them after he bought a 6 oz. jar for about $8. I grew my own peppers, made three times as much and the whole enterprise cost less than $2.50. If you like a zing in your Martini, these really do the trick.

[Moondog]

8. That sounds really excellent.

Thanks for the idea.

[yellerpup]

10. I love your ideas, too.

Hot pickled okra is one I must try! :hi:

[JBoy]

13. Olives stuffed with lemon rind are good in martinis

You can find them in jars, or sometimes at Greek delis.

[geardaddy]

16. Just regular green olives with pimento in brine.

Or why don't you try a gibson? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_(cocktail)