[tptacek]

Yes, if you're buying olive oil at the supermarket, it's going to be a crap shoot. But you're going to know immediately that you've got bland oil (if it tastes anything like other supermarket oils, it's bland; the difference isn't subtle --- again, think about the difference between an IPA and a lager).

Again, a good way to handle this is to drop $35 on a bottle from some place like Zingermans, and just use it as a benchmark.

[TwiztidK]

Zingerman's is like oil overload. Last time I was there I couldn't even dream about picking a single one out of their entire stock. I just wish there were a way to reliably find reasonably priced, quality oil since I can't afford to spend anywhere near $35/bottle on olive oil more than once or twice.

[tptacek]

That's true, but the good thing about them is that they don't stock any crappy oil; you can pick at random.