Excellent and Beautiful: Meet Some of the Best-Looking EVOOs in the World

The fact that extra virgin olive oil is a premium product is something that is rarely debated. No one doubts the benefits of incorporating it into their diet. According to the Spanish Heart Foundation, it raises HDL (good) cholesterol levels while lowering LDL-c (bad) cholesterol, benefits the control of arterial hypertension, and reduces the chance of thrombosis. It also prevents diabetes.

Spain is a world leader in surface area, production, and exports due to its olive-growing tradition and an industry that produces high quality oils. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, olive oil production in Spain accounts for 70% of EU production and 45% of global production. The "harvest" of top-quality oils is broad, but there’s also an interesting circumstance: some oils combine their intrinsic quality with outstanding design. Here are seven eye-catching Spanish olive oils that you'll fall in love with before you've even tasted them.

Aceite Cuac

This is an extra virgin olive oil inside a bottle that looks like a rubber ducky. This is Cuac, an EVOO made with Picual olives from Jaén, which belongs to the Protected Designation of Origin of Sierra de Cazorla. The olive groves where the olives come from are located at Finca de los Patos. "Patos" means duck, hence the bottle design. It has won quite a few awards, including a Gold at the Pentawards, and it was a Silver Winner at the World Brand Design Society. Raquel García, CEO of Verdejear, a family-run business with 50 years in the sector, is the person behind this oil with an aroma of freshly cut grass and tomato and notes of rosemary and thyme. In the mouth, the bitterness is balanced with an intense spicy touch.

Salzysalz

The origins of Salzysalz date back to 1870, when the Medina family began to cultivate their Empeltre olive trees in Agón, a small Aragonese village located in the foothills of the Moncayo mountain range. Salz Medina Fortacín, the fourth generation of the family, decided to create the brand as a tribute to his family's hard work and to the area, continuing to grow this native variety. The design, reminiscent of a laboratory or pharmacy bottle, has been awarded the Gold Medal for the Best Premium Design in the latest EVOOLEUM Guide. Inside the bottle is 100% Empeltre single-varietal extra virgin olive oil from early harvest and cold extraction. Its flavor includes spicy notes due to early harvesting, which also allows it to contain a higher amount of polyphenols, a source of vitamins A and E.

De Las Hoyas

The Silver Medal for the Best Premium Design in the EVOOLEUM Guide went to Arbequina De Las Hoyas, an extra virgin olive oil from the Castillo Ochotorena family, with a sober design reminiscent of a wine bottle. This oil is extracted from Spanish olives from the Cortijo de Las Hoyas (Almería) when they are perfectly ripe, i.e. when the olives are in the envero stage, turning from green to black with purplish undertones. The Arbequina olives make it a sweet and smooth oil without an excessively bitter aftertaste. It's also very aromatic, with notes of banana and apple.

Verde Divino Picual Ecológico

An attractive drawing of an olive tree on the label is one of the (powerful) reasons this oil won the Packaging and Innovation EVOO award at the last edition of Salón Gourmets. Made from 100% organic olives, this oil is the result of a traditional production process. Like the good Picual that it is, it has aromas of fresh olive, olive leaf, and grass, with hints of vegetables such as artichoke and tomato, and fruity notes of almond and apple. It has powerful bitter and spicy notes in the mouth.

Day & Night Nobleza del Sur

This organic EVOO was distinguished at the prestigious Pentawards and at the Arca Awards. For more than a quarter of a century, the latter has been recognizing the best designs in packaging under the Veredictas International standard, and Day & Night was honored at a recent edition. Produced in Jaén, "Day" has a bee on the label and is a fruity oil with green herbaceous and fruity tones, such as banana peel and apple. It's balanced in the mouth with a strong green profile, and it’s fresh, slightly bitter, and spicy. "Night," with a butterfly on the label, is a fruity, sweet, and harmonious multi-varietal oil. Fruity, sweet and harmonious oil. It is also complex in nuances with green tones and aromas that recall the plants that coexist in their olive grove. While “Day” is 100% picual, “Night” is a multivarietal one: two complementary EVOOs with one thing in common: they excepcional quality and a  great design.