Feature: Galley Gourmet Gift Guide
Fill up your dockside pantry for the holidays with these Southeast local treats.
Salt air, twinkle lights, a cooler full of ice. Holidays on the Southeastern coast feel different, closer to the waterline. This year, skip the generic fruit basket and build a Holiday Dockside Pantry, a giftable spread of bright, briny Southern flavors. Think hand-harvested sea salts, smoked fish, heirloom grits, pralines, and rum with a story. Everything here comes from makers along our shoreline, ready to pack into a rope-handled tote for the host who would rather shuck, stir, and sip by the water. Slip a copy of The Saltwater Table: Recipes from the Coastal South into the tote, a practical companion for oyster roasts, fish fries, and porch suppers.
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Start with the flavor bedrock. From Charleston, Bulls Bay Saltworks offers the Chef Gift Box, featuring Carolina Flake and Bourbon Barrel Flake, with a bright mineral crunch and a soft, smoky lift. Their Carolina Margarita Salt rims winter citrus cocktails and wakes up grilled shrimp. Add a second shoreline accent with Hatteras Saltworks’ Sea Salt Sampler from the Outer Banks, 12 tidy pouches from Pure to Smoked to Sea Kelp, a passport of Atlantic nuance. Slip in Seaside Grown Riptide Fish Dust for a briny, peppery rub that loves drum, oysters, and late-night popcorn.
Bring the sea to the table in two ways. For the raw bar set, ship live Lowcountry Cups from Lowcountry Oyster Company or go Gulf-side with Murder Point Oysters, both tidy, saline, and celebration-ready. For effortless noshing, add Ophelia Inlet Products’ Smoked Fish Dip from Core Sound, creamy, smoky, and built for crackers on the skiff. Stow Food for the Southern Soul’s Fire Roasted Bloody Mary Mix for deck-side drinks, bold and ready for a celery stalk.
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Anchor the pantry with Southern staples. Marsh Hen Mill Jimmy Red Grits carry heirloom sweetness and a gentle nuttiness, perfect under sautéed shrimp or a poached egg. Spoon on Southern Keep Blackberry Bourbon Jam or drizzle Red Clay Barrel-Aged Salted Bourbon Honey, velvety and kissed with oak. A jar of Mrs. Sassard’s Jerusalem Artichoke Relish brings crisp tang to ham biscuits. Speaking of, tuck in Callie’s Buttermilk Biscuit Mix, the surest path to warm, flaky layers for brunch. For the premium bottle, choose Georgia Olive Farms Chef’s Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil with its grassy snap, or opt for EVOO from Rewined, delicate and golden.
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Sweet finishes deserve their own tier. River Street Sweets’ World Famous Pralines pack buttery crunch and Georgia pecans in a handsome box. If you want instant island sunshine, ship Kermit’s Key Lime Pie from Key West, tart and creamy. Then, add Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice for DIY pies and bright cocktails all season.
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Round out the bar and breakfast. High Wire Distilling Co.'s Jimmy Red Bourbon pours notes of graham, cinnamon, and maple, making it a fireside sipper with Edisto provenance. If you prefer coastal cocktails, reach for St. Augustine Distillery Pot Distilled Rum, rich with cane and spice, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka for a wink of porch swing sweetness, Bittermilk’s Old Fashioned Gift Set for foolproof classics, Red Clay’s Spicy Margarita Drink Set for heat and citrus, and Oliver Pluff & Co. Wine Spices Wassail for a pot of spice and steam. Mornings stay on theme with Charleston Coffee Roasters’ Charleston Trio, and a splash of Natalie’s Blood Orange Juice. Keep a six-pack of Ceebo Brew Co.’s The Classic on ice for the non-alcoholic crowd.
