A truly good balsamic vinegar is surprisingly hard to find. The quality swings wildly from bottle to bottle—and let’s be honest, most of what lines grocery store shelves barely deserves the name.

On one end of the spectrum, you’ve got the iconic DOP Traditional Balsamic Vinegar: thick, complex, aged for over a decade, and served in tiny bottles like liquid treasure. (If that’s what you’re hunting for, we wrote all about it here.) But what about the balsamic vinegar you want to actually use in your cooking? Something you can splash, stir, and drizzle with joy—not fear?