Pirate Cigar at Darkwater Alley Lounge

09/15/2026

09/04/2026

Saturday, September 19 we turn two - and it lands on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

School is in session. Carlos rolls one by hand in front of the room, about an hour, no signup. First time we have ever done it. Paper & Strings play.

Free. No ticket, no cover.

Mark the 19th.

09/02/2026

September's Plunder landed yesterday: Above & Beyond, Classic Heroes, from Blanco Ci**rs.

Seven inches by 54, box-pressed torpedo. Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder, Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. Medium body - cedar, pepper and toasted nuts, with leather and hay on the aroma.

We are the first shop in the bay to have them. Not the only one. First.

Ask the crew to set one aside.

**rs

08/31/2026

Everybody's got that one person who's impossible to shop for.

Not a thing. Not another gadget that ends up in a drawer. An afternoon — a good stick, a coffee worth sitting with, and a room where nobody rushes them out.

Gift cards are available at the bar. Any amount, no expiration, and they work on the whole room: humidor, coffee bar, all of it.

Give somebody a chair.

08/30/2026

LAST DAY. Voting closes tonight at 11:59pm. 🏴‍☠️

This is it — the final chance to vote Pirate Cigar at Darkwater Alley for Best Cigar Shop in Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay 2026.

If you've been meaning to and haven't, this is the morning. If you've voted every day since we made the ballot — thank you, and go get one more in.

https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-cigar-shop

Whatever the result, we already got the good part: a room full of people who showed up for a small shop in Pinellas Park. That's the win. The trophy would just be nice.

08/29/2026

Two days left to vote — and we're open tonight for the turtles. 🐢🏴‍☠️

Best of the Bay voting closes tomorrow at 11:59pm. We're a finalist for Best Cigar Shop, and today and tomorrow are the last two days you can cast a vote.

Vote this morning: https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-cigar-shop
Then come see us tonight, 5–7pm, for Sea Turtle Trackers at the Alley. Free at the door.

Two good deeds, one Saturday.

08/26/2026

They're running for the water right now.

August is peak hatchling season on our beaches — and this Saturday the 29th we're turning the whole lounge over to them. Sea Turtle Trackers at the Alley, 5–7pm, free at the door.

Sushi from Nori Thai, turtle candies from Kilwin's, a raffle for a dolphin cruise, and a hatchling board with your name on it. Every stick, every pour sends something to the sea.

Come be part of it.

08/25/2026

The box-pressed Toro, a slow hour, and nowhere else to be.

August's Plunder — the My Father Flor de Las Antillas Maduro. Nicaraguan, cocoa and caramel, a nutty backbone, and it does not reward being rushed. Neither does the chair you'll be sitting in.

Still on the shelf through the end of the month. Ask the crew.

08/24/2026

Your vote reset overnight. 🏴‍☠️

Best of the Bay lets you vote once a day, every day, and we're still in the running for Best Cigar Shop. If you voted yesterday — you can vote again right now.

This is a small room. We don't have a marketing budget; we have you. That's actually the whole point of an award voted on by readers instead of bought by advertisers.

Ten seconds: https://vote.cltampa.com/goods/best-cigar-shop

08/23/2026

It is August in Florida and some of us are still ordering it hot. No notes, no apology.

The Turtle Latte in a proper mug — vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate, pecan across the top, steam and all. There's a reason the deep chairs face away from the windows.

Pouring all month. Iced if you must.