The Best Store-Bought Cocktail Onions Make Your Home Bar Setup Feel Complete

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Garnishes often get overlooked as a crucial component of creative cocktails, but that's a mistake. Not only do they perch so prettily atop your masterpiece, but they also contribute subtle flavors to the overall drinking experience. That's especially true for impactful elements such as cocktail onions, sometimes skewered alongside olives on a Bloody Mary, or more notably, on classic Gibson martinis in place of olives or lemon twists. 

With so much at stake, Tasting Table created a ranked list of seven store-bought cocktail onions, judged by criteria such as visual presentation, balanced taste, crisp texture, the perfect size, and good value. All these elements contribute considerably to the cocktail-enhancing success of these mildly sweet and tangy, petite pickled pearl onions. As our taste tester nibbled and sipped her way through the contenders, one began rising to the top, finally landing in the number one position: Mezzetta Cocktail Onions. 

Our tester put it quite simply: Mezzetta cocktail onions are on top of the list because they combine an attractive appearance (crucial for a cocktail garnish) with a great taste. They're also easily obtainable, both locally and online, and they have consistent quality and a competitive price, at roughly $4 per jar. She explains in more detail: "Every aspect of these onions was well-executed. Each one measures about one 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." They were noted as being sufficiently crisp and crunchy with a brine that blended well with gin.

As a family-owned company since 1935, four generations of Mezzetta's, now under the care of President Jeff Mezzetta, great-grandson of founder Giuseppe, carry on the belief that "when you share your food, you're sharing a part of who you are." If that's true, then little pickled cocktail onions matter more than meets the eye. With that in mind, there's no need to relegate them to simply a garnish. 

Of course, to experience these briny wonders in their most famous context, incorporate them into an easy Gibson cocktail recipe. But think outside the jar and consider pickled onions in other contexts, such as letting these pearls take cucumber salad from 'meh' to magnificent. They can also bring flavor and texture to antipasto platters, braised vegetables, pot roasts, meatloaf, charcuterie boards, tuna salads, kebabs, and lots more. And when October rolls around, they make perfectly pungent squishy eyeballs for Halloween parties. 

Plenty of people apparently agree with the top-spot positioning of Mezzetti on our list of store-bought cocktail onions. Online shopping reviews and ratings largely reflect positive experiences, with Amazon customers giving an overall 4.4 out of 5 stars from 416 global ratings. When discussing taste alone, 44 out of 47 comments praise these pickled onions for things like being tasty and sharp in a salad, and standing out for tart and tangy flavor with just enough crispness, even when eaten straight from the jar. The vast majority of one-star negative customer experiences revolved around shipping issues, particularly with leaking or broken bottles. However, as our Tasting Table reviewer noted, they're generally easy to find in local stores and markets, with no shipping required.