Things We Like

Oil Around the World
Owen Dugan

Ego Sum Toro de Osborne Intense
$23 for 500ml, www.tienda.com

Spain - If you've been to Spain, you'll recognize the bull on this metal bottle; it's the billboard of the Osborne wine and liquor company. Today, they've branched out into emblematic gourmet products as well, including a range of oils. Two of the oils come from a family-run farm dating to the nineteenth century in Castilla-La Mancha. One is labeled Suave, or "subtle", and is predictably mild. The one labeled intense is a master class in the meaning of "fruity" in oil; it's nice and round, with a banana character. The finish is pleasantly bitter, but not peppery.