My first olive memory involves one of my rambunctious older cousins removing the pimento filling from the plumpest olives on the relish tray, sticking one on each fingertip and chasing me around our Grandparents’ Christmas Eve party like a monster.

He got into serious trouble and I stayed away from olives for the next 15 years. It wasn’t so much the monster thing; I was just convinced that they were bad news. Olives always smelled a little weird to me and I was convinced I would hate them.

After several years and the realization that taste buds do mature, I decided to give olives another shot via a dirty martini. To say I liked the taste would be an understatement. I quickly discovered that the dirtier the martini was, the more I enjoyed it. The only problem is when you make them at home and you use the brine from your jar of olives, you end up with extra olives that no longer have liquid to live in. Stick them back in the fridge without any juice and they’re done for.

To alleviate that very issue, we’re now selling martini mixes from the olive experts at Toss. Personally, I’m a big fan of making my drink with the Filthy mixer and adding a delicious Blue Cheese Stuffed Olive with Black Pepper as my "garnish." It’s really more of a treat than a garnish, but regardless – the olive brine stays in the olive jar and I can keep snacking for weeks, if not months. I’m not quite sure how long they’ll last, considering a jar has yet to last more than three days in my house.

We’ve got tons of other great flavors, including Garlic Stuffed Martini Olives in Vodka and Vermouth, which I highly recommend. It’s almost too easy to make your martinis better than ever, when you’ve got so many awesome garnishes and mixers to choose from.

I’m just glad I got over my olive complex. If you’ve still got one, you’re seriously missing out. Happy mixing!

TAGS [ MARTINI GARNISH | DIRTY MARTINIS | OLIVE GARNISH | DIRTY MARTINI MIX | OLIVE BRINE | TOSS | TOSS OLIVES | COCKTAILS ]