Liquid Gold Tasting Bar & All Things Olive

Oh no, don’t force me to dip delicious bread into a variety of oils and balsamic vinegars — said NO ONE EVER. Liquid Gold is fabulous — they’re got a huge selection of olive oils and vinegars for any taste. There’s also spouts for pouring your new goodies, mustards, preserves and other delicious goodies on-​hand.
Not sure what you want? No problem! Have a taste test of any of their stock and see what you like. (Pro-tip:the garlic olive oil is amazing.) If you’re still not sure, have a chat with the staff — they know everything in stock and are happy to make recommendations for you or for a gift. Speaking of gifts, Liquid Gold has fabulous sample packs! They’ve got three olive oils and three vinegars to try in each pack. And they’re good. So good, you’ll need to go back again soon to restock ;)

This would be my go to place when I need olive oil, their selection is unparallel.
All oils can be sampled so you know what you’re buying plus you can return the bottles back for a discount on your next purchase.
The only negative I can think of is the selection can vary from time to time. You mind find a favourite only to discover that it’s no longer available next time you go back.
Highly recommended.

My sister gave me a sample gift pack from Liquid Gold for Christmas and from the first time we combined the oil and vinegar for bread dipping, we were hooked. Finally got in to the store this past Saturday to replenish our stock.
The set up of the store lends itself to making a circuit or two to sample the delicious offerings. It’s hard to decide what to try. To sample everything in one visit would be too much. Thankfully, the staff will advise on good pairings for your particular tastes or recipes. They also will suggest nice pairings of oils & vinegars. Hence we left with a bottle of Blood Orange infused oil & raspberry infused vinegar for our spinach salads.
There are very diverse flavours available in both vinegars and oils. You’ll find fruity, herby, earthy or spicy. There are blends as well as oils from different countries and varieties, other condiments and preserves, including at least half a dozen types of mustard. And of course there are a number of accessories including spouts and drizzlers.
It’s all a bit overwhelming but I think it might be best to just keep going back and try a few at a time and build up a collection to suit ever occasion and recipe. And speaking of recipes, they have a great collection on their website and I already have a few on my list to try.

Glad we stumbled in this place. Bought tons of different infused oils including a mushroom infused oil which is to die for. We use it in stir fries and the flavour is unbelievable.
The taste testing is a great sell as well.

There is no place even remotely like this in Halifax. An olive oil and balsamic vinegar boutique. That sounds pretentious until you actually step inside and experience Liquid Gold.
The selection is unbelievable. Who knew there was so much variety? As garlic lovers, we gravitate to the keg of garlic olive oil every time. We also love the Herb de Provence, which is infused with oregano and basil. The taste? Is amazing. The vinegars? Are amazing. Despite all the wonderful flavours the traditional organic balsamic is still my favourite.
They have spoons and bread for sampling their wares. It’s a small space and gets busy quickly, but they have more than enough staff to see to all the customers. They also carry some soaps, pastas and odds n’ ends. For the foodie on your Christmas list, you can purchase four– and six-​packs of various oils and vins. So much awesome stuff, so little time …

I went there following my friend’s recommendation and I am glad I did.
It is an unique experience, wide variety, high quality and amazing knowledgeable staff
Definitely a must go in Halifax!!!
And the best part: really close to my house!!!

I think Halifax should be so grateful for a place like this. It’s unique and the concept of tasting the different products is very smart. I find that people will most always tend to buy something that they have tried; unless it terrible of course.
Service — really the best part of the experience in our case as the young lady who helped us was upbeat, informative, and generally just nice.
Products — one of the best I’ve seen locally and it might very well be the best. I can now get Truffle Oil at a decent price without going to the typical places (no names mentioned here) or Italy itself. The Truffle Salt is really very, very good and beats the last one I did get in Italy, hands down. They have shaved enough of the truffle into the salt to make you see it each time you grab some. The other mushroom/​fungus oils are incredible — very earthy, which is what I like. I’m not into all into the Balsamic Oils but this place has them in spades.
If you bring back the bottles you get a discount on the refill. Another great concept not just for saving $$ but for the recycling.

I love this place and the product from here is superb. Best oils and vinegars ive had in my life. I love that you can taste test flavor combinations via their sample cups and bread for dipping.
The owners of this shop are always warm, informative, and friendly whenever we visit always offering us to try new taste combinations.
This is definitely a great date spot.

Oh I am such a big fan of this place.
Liquid Gold is exactly what Halifax needed.
An entire wall is covered with vats of olive oil and the other wall is loaded with vats of balsamic vinegars. The best part? You may taste each one so you make the perfect purchase.
My very favourite (besides truffle oil) is the Wild Mushroom and Sage oil. Take a beautiful chicken and slather it that oil plus s&p and you have a great dinner. It is extremely flavourful.
The store is lovely and inviting. You could easily spend 30 minutes plus in here tasting oil.
The staff are fabulous and know exactly what they’re doing. This is something you should expect in a specialty store but is often not the case. Clearly they’re worth their weight in gold too!

A quiet neighbourhood, an unassuming storefront and uncluttered sales floor. Perfect conditions for tasting olive oils and balsamic vinegars.
I think Liquid Gold Tasting Bay & All Things Olive is one of Halifax’s best kept secrets! Come here and fill up a spoon to taste flavoured and specialty olive oils, or make your own bread dipping concoction with balsamic vinegars (and test it with bread cubes from Juliens!)
Staff here are very, very knowledgeable about the product and pairings. Stop here for yourself or pick up a cool gift!

This place is cool, at first you think you’re outta your league but just pick up a spoon and start tasting. Mmm, the staff is super gracious and pour generous samples of the «please ask for help cause these cost a lot» oils.

I love this place for so many reasons. It is a chef/​cooks dream comes true. The focus is on flavored olive oil but they also have flavored balsamic oil. Unique pasta, whole spice mixes to grind at home, jams and a few jars of olives here and there. As for prices who really cares. It is a high end shop. I dropped 22.40 for a little bottle of sage and wild mushroom olive oil and a small container of 5 spice mix. The oils are only suitable to be used to finish dishes. Don’t cook with them.

I could do circles in this place all day! Honestly! And never get tired of trying things.
When you walk in you are greeted with small stainless casks on top of wooden shelving. Below are bowls of bread bites and cups to aid you in your sampling.
I will say that the plethora of flavors of vinegar and oils are impressive. From fruity and light to dark robust tastes. I cannot imagine anyone entering and not finding at least one item to.suit.your palate or dish. There is an espresso balsamic and Sicilian lemon that makes me squeal and promptly buy.
The oils are no less represented here. Faint tastes of apple, nut and even asparagus are infused in these oils from all over the world.
The neatest thing for a gift is the gift box where you purchase two empty bottles in a box and the recipient can return and select the products they want… How brilliant is that?

If you like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and baguette, then this is a place for you. If you don’t well, then I don’t know what to make of you.
Liquid Gold is THE PLACE to buy olive oil and balsamic in Halifax. There are so many tasty, interesting options and you’re free to sample them all in the store. My kitchen is currently stocked with about five or six bottles (luckily, they come in smaller sizes so you can try them out without hurting your wallet).
Plus, the store is located in the adorable Hydrostone neighborhood right by Julian’s bakery, where you can pick up a fresh baguette to go with your purchases.

Ever walked into a place and felt like you were being taken for a ride? Like not a good one, one where you feel like everything about their products are just BS and you can see right through the fancy pants marketing and signage? Well my friends, Liquid Gold is the complete opposite.
I wandered in here last Christmas having heard about the concept and looking for a good present for my foodie/​chef mother. Amongst a large group of women I was greeted by a kind man with a beard (who I’d come to find out is one of the owners) who immediately made me feel welcome. He gave me the low down on the place in an unpretentious manner that didn’t make me feel like as a 26 year old I should be out drinking Red Bull and not tasting olive oil.
I still can’t get over how distinctive each one of their olive oils and vinegars are. Wine, I find, is very subjective, while I found the palette descriptions for each of their oils and vinegars to be very accurate to what I was tasting. The setup is very nice with large stainless steel vessels and little spouts to pour yourself a sampler.
Everytime I’ve been in the staff have been always helpful, offering pairing suggestions and recommendations. I’ve tasted a variety of their oils and vinegars and truly feel they are worth their weight in… well liquid gold.

This lovely, sophisticated shop in the Hydrostone must be a godsend for hobby chefs, Europhiles, and frankly anyone who loves a good reason to dip carbs in oils. So just about everyone, really.
Stainless steel pots line the room, each containing a particular blend of oil or vinegar ranging from butter and garlic varieties to Cranberry and Pear, and Wild Mushroom and Sage. There are plenty to choose from and surely tons of new options for spicing up your at-​home hosting.
If you can’t resist a taste, there are little bites of bread and small cups for sampling purposes. I believe most of them to be on a self-​serve honour system, but to be honest there was only one person working that day and she was helping one customer the entire time I was in… so I’m not really sure how the system works. I didn’t go out on a limb to just start trying things in case that wasn’t allowed which sadly meant no tasty treats for me.
Prices definitely put these oils in the occasional treat range in my books but there are sampler options where you get to mix-​and-​match a selection of smaller bottles at a lower cost which sounds great!
Next time I’ll visit at a busier time of the day/​week in order to catch them with more staff on deck. It’s not the easiest place to just browse solo without any help.

This is one of those reviews when half stars aren’t necessary unless they are bonus stars. I’m sure my review will echo much of what is in the ones before, but this place deserves as many positive acknowledgments as possible. This was an impromptu stop in as we were in the area having just visited the Italian Market (awesome too!).
It is a smallish but inviting and cozy store filled with “All Things Olive“. There were probably 4 or 5 staff present to greet, tour, and educate. I have a friend who has told me he believes that coffee, cheese, and chocolate are among the great culinary treasure of we normal folk (non-​chef or hugely rich people who could afford truffles twice a week). While I agree, although I don‘t drink coffee, I have to add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the list. Sorry, I went on a tangent as I was talking about the staff. All of them were friendly and knowledgeable. They were happy to share their favorites or suggest couplings of oils and vinegars.
One was suggesting to use the little spoons to stir the oil and vinegar to emulsify them before trying and also said she always splatters herself when doing… yea, so did I!
Now to the star of the show. The Oils are amazing! You can often taste the flavors individually of the oils as the description purports. Almonds, grassy, a touch bitter, etc. The infused oils are excellent… wild mushrooms and sage, Tuscan mix, and so many more. We then moved on to the balsamic vinegars and started with a Jalapeño one before trying most of them.
My favorites: Chipotle Oil and then paired with an Apricot balsamic vinegar; Blood Orange Oil paired with Cinnamon and Pear balsamic.
Wild mushroom and Sage oil; Meyer Lemon Oil.
Go with some time to taste and enjoy the experience!

«A bar of olive oil?
SIGN ME UP.»
This was the thought that ran through my head when I first stumbled into Liquid Gold. I was greeted by silver canteen after silver canteen of olive oil and more importantly, balsamic vinegar.
I happen to love vinegar much more than olive oil (leading to balsamic shots back in college), so I walked to that side of the store, but was then led away by sales girl.
«You can’t have dessert before the main course…»
I then tasted many, many, olive oils such as blood orange, garlic, herb, and many vintage special pressings. Some of these oils are better than others, but the only way to tell is if you try them, which is the best feature of this tasting bar.
However, I ran as quickly as I could to the vinegar side of the store for cinnamon pear, jalapeño, and strawberry (my favourite.)
In addition to the great selection of olive oils and vinegars, there are also great gift ideas here. Some of these include, olive oil soap, olive wood products, and shampoos.
Liquid Gold is a great place to stop by to brighten your day and imagine that you are in sunny Italy, which is desperately needed in a city of fog and rain

Excellent shop and the selection is outstanding — not only do they have a wide variety of olive oils but balsamic vinigars as well! Excellent way to spend an afternoon shopping then grabbing a snack at Julien’s.
Staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly — no question is stupid — they are there to serve.
This is also a great place to buy gifts for the foodies or chef’s on your list as they have great gift packs and gift wrapping — be sure to check this place out!

I went into Liquid Gold to taste olives as I mistakenly thought it was an olive tasting store. That’s how much of a foodie I am. I missed the Liquid Gold reference. What I discovered was an olive oil and vinegar tasting bar carrying top-​quality products.
Rows of shiny urns line the walls of the wood paneled store located in the Hydrostone market. Beside each urn is a stack of cups which are used for tasting the liquid gold. You can try as many flavours as you like. Bread is provided to cleanse your palate between tastes. It’s like a wine tasting but with olive oil and vinegar.
The staff is friendly and very helpful. As foodies are obviously a target group and I am so not a foodie, I confessed my ignorance about balsamic vinegars other than knowing what’s sold in supermarket chains is not that tasty. The clerk was happy to tell me that most balsamic vinegars sold in supermarkets are aged for only four years. The ones sold in this store are aged between twelve and eighteen years and urged me to taste a vinegar that had been aged eighteen years.
I was instantly wowed. The vinegar was light with notes of strawberries and other fruits, perfect to be used as a salad dressing. It was like a fantastic wine, but the price was much less, around $ 18. The oils and vinegars are sold in reusable bottles. If you bring your bottle back, then you get a 10% discount off your next purchase.
I went home with a bottle to try and look forward to sampling the olive oils next time. I may well be on my way to becoming a serious foodie.