@woodsroad there's a 2-hit point maximum, so I counted yours as -1 Ennerdale, +1 Skiff. And since I can't resist kicking an opponent while he's down, I'm gonna launch both my -'s at Lancer Slices, leaving it with a single hit point.
Living:
Anomalous - Sutliff -
16
Brown Twist #4 - SG -
12
Golden Sliced - Orlik -
14
Red Virginia - Robert McConnell - 11
Dockworker - HU - 14
Oriental Silk - C&D - 13
Rouxgaroux - WCC - 16
Ennerdale - GH -
20
1989 - Erik Stokkebye -
16
Full Virginia Flake - SG -
20
Rich Dark Honeydew - GH -
17
Bob's Chocolate Flake - GH -
15
Black - Sillem's - 13
Skiff Mixture - SG -
16
Flake - Peterson (Dunhill) -
12
Lancer Slices - F&K -
1
Wintertime Flake - SG -
7
Dark Bird's Eye - GH -
18
Deceased:
Grape - Captain Black
Match 20 - Sutliff
Hogshead - Seattle Pipe Club
Royal - Captain Black
Royal Yacht - Peterson
Exclusive - C&D
Stratfordshire - C&D
Mixture #79 - Sutliff
Aged Burley Flake - Solani
From Beyond - C&D
Pegasus - C&D
Holly's Non Plus Ultra - Dan
Dorchester - Esoterica
No. 69 - Peter Henrichs
Maple Shadows - Sutliff
American Cut Plug - Watch City
Squadron Leader - SG
Luxury Navy Flake - Peter Stokkebye
In monumental and semi-surprising news, Luxury Navy Flake fell today. This fact may not be sufficient to refurbish the broken heart sustained by
@Servant King, but this is the most monumental death so far, in that it marks the halfway point in the game. There are now as many blends in the culinary Valhalla as there are among the living. And, with 249 hit points between the remaining blends, it means that the -2 votes have shrunk the hit-point pool, meaning that this game is speeding up. Soon - nearly a quarter into 2024 - a blend will be crowned best of 2023. Which will it be? Nobody can be certain, but it probably won't be Lancer Slices! Just sayin'...
In news of the living, there's now only one blend at 20+ and it's Full Virginia Flake. Indeed, for the first time, FVF suckles at the teat of victory. However, as we've seen before, taking the lead isn't always a good thing... Pegasus and LNF once looked down upon their rivals as mere peons and disgraced underlings, only to find themselves pushing up daisies as fervently as Miracle-Gro in springtime.
Ennerdale has proven the stoutest so far, holding its own in the upper echelon, seemingly unaffected by most goings-on. There it lies in wait, sittin' pretty as a Bond girl and feelin' froggy as a Kermit, challenging any who'd take up the gauntlet. The marauders, however, seem to carpool four to an Uber, as all the focus has been on Lancer Slices and LNF.
The big news, however, is in the art of the stratagem.
@Servant King cast his first +1/-1 vote, even at the risk of the fall of the house of Luxury Flake. The sad-faced emojis proved powerless against his wiles, but being called out by a post was all it took to right all wrongs. It's as the classic saying goes... "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but single me out before my peers and compatriots and I'll surely relent." Long live the powers of peer pressure!
