7 Store-Bought Cocktail Onions, Ranked Worst To Best

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If you don't have a jar of cocktail onions on your pantry shelf or stocked in your home bar, you're making a mistake. Of course, their definitive role is as the heart and soul of a Gibson cocktail— a martini variation made with gin or vodka, dry vermouth, and sometimes a splash of onion brine. These pickled vegetables can also be used as a garnish for a savory mixed drink or contribute amazing flavor to charcuterie boards. You can use them in salads or even as a topping for a homemade burger recipe.

Buying quality cocktail onions is important no matter how you use them, but it's especially important if you're planning to sip a Gibson. Use a pungent, astringent onion, and the drink will make you cough. You'll get hooked, though, if the garnish is a tangy-sweet onion with the perfect combination of earthiness, sharp vinegar, and umami. The crunch at the end is the culmination.

You probably don't want to try every brand of cocktail onion available on Amazon. Don't worry: I did that for you and ranked them from worst to best. The onion that took first place has it all: a beautiful visual presentation, the perfect size, a great balanced taste, a crisp texture, and fantastic value.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

The Saclà onions ended up at the bottom of this ranking because of their small size and bland flavor. Each of these onions had a ½-inch diameter, while other brands of cocktail onions had diameters of up to 1 inch. Three or four of these tiny onions are roughly equivalent to the size of a single larger one. That means they don't look as nice in a cocktail glass and are more difficult to put on a toothpick. That defeats their purpose as cocktail onions, as they're meant to be beautiful, tasty garnishes.

The flavor of Saclà onions is much softer than that of all the other brands. When I tried them, I thought they tasted vaguely of canned peas and not much like onions. The first flavor was salt, and then a vague hint of vinegar showed up. I enjoyed their texture and pleasant crunch.

Despite the small size and milder taste, I thought the flavor was pleasant, although not ideal in a Gibson martini. The brine just didn't blend well with the gin. On the other hand, Saclà's product might be perfect to add to a salad — this cucumber salad recipe combining cucumber, avocado, and pickled onions looks like a fantastic match. Some home cooks might balk at paying $9 a jar for a salad ingredient, though.

Divina cocktail onions, which cost around $10 a jar, are near the bottom of this list because of their small size and soft texture. They felt mushy and not crunchy at all. They have a similar size and flavor profile as Saclà. They were superior to the latter because their taste was more intense. The upfront flavor was salty, and the vinegar surprised me right at the end. While I enjoyed snacking on them, I don't think they would be an ideal garnish for a Gibson martini. The flavor of the brine didn't complement the gin, and the onions were too small for the cocktail glass.

Both Divina and Saclà stood apart from the other onions I tested. They had less of a vinegary bite and were saltier. Neither tasted like onion. These two jars were also the only two imported from Italy. That may explain why they are so different from the rest and so similar to each other. That said, I would recommend adding these onions to dishes like this vegetable antipasto salad.

Sable & Rosenfeld's Tipsy Onions are on the bottom half of this list because they were the sweetest ones I tried and had a soft, mushy texture. Their flavor was tangy and cloying, almost like bread-and-butter pickles. I liked them more than the Divina, though, because these were larger and more beautiful.

The sweet flavor of these onions made them unsuitable for a savory drink like a Gibson. Sugar is the third ingredient after onions and water, and I definitely noticed that when I tried them. That syrupy brine clashed with the crisp, dryness of the juniper flavor in the gin. The texture was an additional issue; these onions fell apart and the layers peeled away. The shape and size of these onions weren't uniform either. They were some of the softest I tried, with just a light crunch near the center.

Even though I wouldn't use these to garnish a martini, I would eat these onions by themselves, although at nearly $14 a jar, they'd be an expensive snack. They would pair well with Brie and would make a wonderful addition to a meat and cheese platter.

Collins Pearl Cocktail Onions fell in the middle of this ranking because their savory flavor would be suitable for a Gibson, but they are still too sour and astringent. When I swallowed one, my eyes watered and my nose ran. I liked them more than Sable & Rosenfeld's onions, though, because these had a fantastic crunch and firmer texture.

The presentation of these onions is spot on. They are snow-white, with a uniform size and perfect round shape. They looked so good, and I couldn't wait to eat one, but their flavor did surprise me. There was nothing sweet about it; instead, it was pungent and pickled. The vinegar attacked the back of my throat as I chewed. The brine was not as astringent as the onions themselves and it complemented the flavor of gin nicely when I mixed the two together.

These Collins onions would make a satisfactory garnish for a Gibson martini, but not the ideal one. I'd much rather spend $9 on another brand.

Old South Pickled Jumbo Cocktail Onions made it to the top three of this list for a good reason: They taste amazing. The flavor of these onions is complex, with vinegar at the forefront. When the initial sourness fades, it's replaced by an earthy umami that brings out a hint of sweetness. I ranked them higher than Collins because they were far more palatable. My eyes didn't burn when I ate them, and I didn't feel like I needed to cough. 

These onions didn't make it to the top of the list, though, because the flavor of each onion varied a bit, as did the shape and size. That lack of consistency made it hard to know what to expect. They were also less visually effective as a garnish since they had more of a yellow tint than most of the other onions. They looked smooshed instead of round — like they'd been packed too tight in the jar.

To test this product out, I added ice, gin, and some of the brine to my cocktail shaker. After stirring about 30 seconds, I strained the mix into my glass. The flavors were truly complementary. I sipped some, then bit into my onion. It was pleasantly crisp. At around $9, Old South's jar of cocktail onions is worth ordering on Amazon or picking up at a specialty shop. The onions are a wonderful quality for the price. 

Filthy Onion's Dutch Silver Skinned Pearl Onions are near the top of this list because of their amazing crunch and flavor. They were better than Old South because their flavor was slightly more intense and they were crunchier. Despite being an incredible product, this jar didn't make it to the top of the list for two reasons. First, a few onion skins were too tough, which made them hard to chew. Second, it was one of the most expensive jars.

Visually, these onions were gorgeous. They were some of the largest, whitest, and roundest of the bunch. Their flavor profile tends toward salty and vinegary. They are sour, but I didn't wince when I swallowed them like I did with the Collins onions. I loved how crunchy they were, but I was disappointed that some of them still had a papery coating on their exterior. This made them fibrous instead of crisp, and the brine from this jar paired well with gin.

The biggest problem with these onions was the price. This jar was one of the smallest at 8.5 ounces (about half the size of Old South's jar), but it had one of the highest price tags at $13. The quality makes it worth it, but anyone on a budget would probably prefer more affordable onions.

Mezzetta's Cocktail Onions are at the top of this list because they combine an attractive appearance with great taste. Even better, they are easy to get ahold of; these were the only cocktail onions I found locally and didn't have to order from Amazon. Finally, I liked them more than Filthy onions because they had a more consistent quality at less than half the price, at around $4 per jar.

Every aspect of these onions was well-executed. Each one measures about 1 inch in diameter. They are shapely and pearly white, with a flavor that was salty and sour upfront, followed by a hint of sweet onion. The individual onions from this jar didn't vary in their flavor or texture. They were sufficiently crisp and could add satisfying crunch to the end of a drink. The brine blended well with gin, too.

These cocktail onions were delightful. I would happily buy another jar of these onions just to keep in my pantry in case of martini and charcuterie emergencies. After all, you never know when you'll need some cocktail onions, and when you do, you'll want the good ones.

Cocktail onions can be added to charcuterie boards and mixed into salads, but, as the name indicates, they are meant for adding to mixed drinks — particularly the Gibson martini. So, I ranked these onions according to which tasted the best with gin and vermouth, as well as which would look most beautiful in a triangular martini glass — one of the most popular types of martini glasses.

The characteristics that visually define these onions are size, color, and shape. The biggest, roundest, and whitest onions added the most flair to cocktails. I ranked these higher than onions that were packed so tight they lost their shape, had a noticeable yellow tinge to them, or were smaller. When I tasted the onions, I noted the acidity from the vinegar, the sweetness of the onion, and the salt from the pickling brine — which I tried with gin. I gave higher rankings to onions that had a pleasant balance of these flavors. Onions that tasted syrupy sweet, eye-wateringly astringent, or salty received lower rankings.  I preferred onions with a delightfully crunchy texture rather than those with mushy layers.

Even taking all of these characteristics into account, the top three jars of onions were similarly pleasing. So, value for quality plays a part in the final ranking, with the top spot going to the onion that provided the tastiest, most consistent quality at the lowest price.