Santa Barbara Olive Company

As many of you know, I don’t pitch food companies very often.  Yes, I will throw recipes out there, but seldom do I get into the food itself.

Today, I deviate from the norm.

Let me introduce you to the Santa Barbara Olive Company. 

Following the tradition of their Great, Great Grandfather (John Emile Goux, who started the California Olive industry in 1851), Craig and Cindy Mekela manage over 5000 trees along the Santa Barbara Coast.

Not only do they produce some of the best organic olives on the market, but they also stuff them with some unique ingredients.

I have (and regularly stock) their Jalapeno and Garlic Stuffed Olives, not only for cooking….but for my Gin Martinis.  The extra zip and flavor really add an uniqueness to any drink.

Recently our local Moser’s stocked their Bleu Cheese Olive, and I had to try it.

I first had Bleu Cheese in my martini at Barton G on South Beach a few years ago.  For those of you who do not know, Barton G was one of the first restaurants to have a mixoligists using liquid nitrogen at the bar.  Drinks like Martinis would could out with ingredients frozen like Dippn Dots and you could spoon them into your drink to customize it any way you wanted.  So, a Dirty Martini would come out with frozen olive brine and you had the option for bleu cheese as well.  Without getting to deep into it, these were some of the best martinis I ever had.

So, when I saw Bleu Cheese Olives…..I had to try them. 

Incredibly crisp and refreshing, the olives are perfect in every way.  They are that good.  But, unlike having a jalapeno or garlic stuffed inside, with Bleu Cheese you get a pleasant surprise.  After the crunch, the cheese just melts in your mouth and totally coats your palette.  The combination of Gin (my preferred Martini), Olive, Brine with the bleu cheese is exquisite.

I HIGHLY endorse this product, and suggest everyone go out and pick up a few of their unique combinations….it will up your game as a home bartender and can cover up some mistakes you make while mixing.  If nothing else, people drinking at your house will realize that you know your stuff.

Great great great product (and that doesn’t even get into all the other things on their website…I’ll let you discover that yourself).

FIVE Stars.

Cheers