Best Olives for Martini Drinkers: 11 Best Olives for Martinis

The best olives for Martini making are more than just a pretty garnish. They’re big, they’re meaty, they soak up the gin or vodka, and transform into one of life’s great bites—a perfect, briny chaser after a spirited sip. And a lot of the time they’re stuffed with something (blue cheese, garlic, jalapeño, etc). Over the course of two taste tests, we tried 27 different Martini olives to find the best olives for Martinis—including the best blue cheese stuffed olives and the best olives for Dirty Martini making. 

Here’s my Martini olive philosophy: They can’t be tiny (what is this, an airport bar?). They can’t be bland. They can’t be mushy. Bonus points if the brine is good enough to make a really good Dirty Martini—that means it can’t taste old and it can’t be too oily. The best olive brine for Martinis is vibrant and tangy. It’s practically good enough to drink on its own. 

There’s nothing more disappointing than finishing a Martini and taking a bite of a mealy, bland olive. Lucky for you, you’ll never have to do that again with this list of the best olives for Martini lovers.

Best Extremely Dirty

These Martini olives are a flavor-blasted garnish. They are so spicy and zesty, and stuffed with extremely creamy blue cheese. They’re the best olives for Martini drinkers who drink Martinis specifically so they can eat olives. As for the Buffalo flavor, I asked our Buffalo expert, Jordan Myrick, what they thought about them. “I think it’s great,” they said. “There’s a nice mild Buffalo flavor and the blue cheese is prominent without being overpowering.” Stick with vodka and don’t try to use the brine for a Dirty Martini—it’s straight-up oil.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Small

Trader Joe’s manzanilla olives are smaller than the others on this list, so if you aren’t a size queen like I am, then these are the best olives for Martinis at your house. That said, they still have some girth. (We’re still talking about Martini olives, I promise.) They’re not dive bar olives. They are also mellower than some of the other brands—more gentle and rounded in their flavor. If you make your Martinis with sherry, these would be perfect, but they’d also be great in a standard Gin Martini made with a softer gin like Plymouth. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

2nd Best Blue Cheese

Filthy makes these blue cheese stuffed olives specifically for Martinis. They’re made with Wisconsin blue cheese that’s extremely tangy and very creamy. I love the craft feel of these olives; you can tell they were hand-stuffed. If you like a lot of salt in your Martini garnish, these are the best blue cheese stuffed olives for you. It’s also just fun to say “filthy.” Give it a try. Didn’t that feel good?

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Fancy

These are the best olives for Martini drinkers who want to recreate that swanky speakeasy experience from the 2010s. While Castelvetrano olives are most often used for charcuterie boards and snacking, their mild, buttery, nutty flavor makes them the best Martini olives for a 50/50 Martini (equal parts gin and dry vermouth) or a Gin Martini made with sherry in place of dry vermouth. Beware: They have pits!

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Lemony

Why choose between an olive garnish or a lemon twist when you can have both? These extremely aromatic olives are infused with the flavor of lemon zest rather than stuffed with it. Personally, I don’t mind eating lemon rind but also eat shrimp tails, so I understand I’m not in the majority here. Anyway, you still get a ton of lemon zest flavor infused into the olives, which are quite sizable as well. They’re truly unique Martini olives, I’ve never had anything quite like them. They’re the best olives for Martinis made with cold, crisp vodka or a botanical-heavy gin. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Spicy

If you’ve never had a spicy Martini, you’re missing out. A dash of hot sauce or a splash of brine from this jar of jalapeño-stuffed olives transforms a Vodka Martini into a conversation-worthy cocktail. These budget-friendly Walmart-brand olives are stuffed with still-crunchy jalapeño, which offers some spice but not too much. You won’t be overwhelmed with heat, but you will get a ton of peppery flavor. They’re definitely the best Martini olives for heat-seekers.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Vermouth Soaked

If you don’t want to make a Martini but still want to eat a Martini-flavored snack, these are the best Martini olives for you. They’re brined in a mix that includes vermouth, so you get that distinct Martini-soaked olive flavor. Of course, you can also use them in a Martini. If you like your Martinis bone dry, these olives are a great way to add just a hint of vermouth to the mix so you aren’t just drinking a glass of cold, straight gin. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Total Wine

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Blue Cheese Stuffed

These are the best blue cheese stuffed olives for Dirty Martini lovers who, much like Christina Aguilera in her 2002 classic with Redman, like it dirrrrty. The brine is flecked with blue cheese, but it’s not too oily. The olives themselves are firm, providing a good foil to the soft blue cheese, which is wonderfully piquant. A Martini made with these olives will punch you in the head with flavor.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Anchovy-Stuffed

If you’ve never had an anchovy-stuffed olive in your Martini and you like a dirty, savory Martini, then you need to buy these ASAP. And if you are amongst the elite Martini drinking crowd and you already make your Martinis with anchovy-stuffed olives, then you need to try this brand. They are so delightfully savory—not just salty, like you might think. And they aren’t overly fishy, either. They are pure umami. They’re the best olives for Dirty Martini drinkers who want to take things to the next level—particularly if you make your Dirty Martinis with vodka. They’re some of the best Martini olives around, in fact, I make Martinis just as an excuse to break out a jar of them.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Garlic Stuffed

I understand that not everyone wants a garlicky Martini, but if you are at all intrigued, I beg you to try these large and in charge garlic-stuffed green olives. They are firm. They are tangy. And the garlic is pickled, zesty, and crunchy. Incredibly, the garlic doesn’t overwhelm the olive flavor (thanks to the pickling). My colleague Gwynedd Stuart loved the textural experience while Jordan Myrick flat out said they were the best things they’ve eaten. Period. These are the best Martini olives for both vodka and gin drinkers who want to live a little.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

The label ain’t lying. These olives are HUGE—about two inches across. So, they certainly check the box of not being too small. In fact, to borrow a turn of phrase from Jaws, you’re going to need a bigger Martini glass. But giant Martini olives aren’t any good if the flavor isn’t there. Well, these deliver on that, too. They have a lovely tang and a buttery finish. I could snack on these olives on their own, but they’re even better when they’re soaked in a mix of vodka or gin and vermouth. They also happen to be widely available. If you want a honker of a delicious, classically pimiento-stuffed olive in your Martini, these are the best olives for Martini making.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Martini olives we tried: Jeff’s Garden Garlic Stuffed Olives, Santa Barbara Olive Olive Co Garlic Olive, Great Value Blue Cheese Stuffed Green Olives, Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Green Bella di Cerignola Olives, Divina Bloody Mary Olives, Specialty Selected Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives, Main and Geary, Tipsy Pimento Olives, Great Value Pimiento Stuffed Olives Jumbo Queen, Market Pantry, Trader Joe’s Colossal Olives Hand Stuffed with Garlic Cloves, Mezzetta Pitted Italian Castelvetrano Olives, Trader Joe’s Garlic & Jalapeno Stuffed Olives, Tillen Farms by Stonewall Kitchen Lemon Twist Olives in Vermouth, Wildfare Green Olives Stuffed with Orange, Santa Barbara Olive Co. Martini Pimento Olives

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