Tequila Joe's Collection |
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| Black Death Tequila (Mixto) |
| NOM: 1113 Distillery: Tequila Eucario Gonzalez, S.A. de C.V. Area: Lowlands (Tequila) Aged: Unaged Barrel Type: n/a Bottle Size: 750ml Bottle Number: n/a Number of Distillations: 2 Alcohol Percentage: 40%/80 Proof Price: $22 Current Website: n/a |
My Tasting Notes: n/a
Info on the Back of the Bottle: n/a
Other Info: While this information is mostly based towards the Black Death Vodka, it
does give you an insite into the brand and company. Here is an excerpt from
BrandChannel.com:
"The brand probably started out as moonshine. A clear, potent drink developed in 1906
by a family called Sigurdsson, the spirit got its moniker from the local Icelandic, “Svarta
Daudi,” or “Black Death.” One surmises this name must be the outcome of the pre-
distinguish “describe” phase. For the next 80 years, Black Death would stay largely out
of the spotlight.
Having bounced from distributor to distributor, reliable information on the brand’s
history is slim at best. It was in 1987 that the beet-based Black Death Vodka made its
mark, winning a London International Wine and Spirit Competition gold medal and
launching itself into a tumultuous half-decade of ups and downs.
Its bottles distinguished with a smiling, top-hatted skull, Black Death began to see
problems in 1990 when the Scarborough Football Club was banned from wearing
jerseys sponsored by Black Death. Then, in April 1992, reporting on the then Belgian-
produced Black Death, Time magazine stated that “the [US] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms [ATF], with exquisite literalness, is blocking the liquor on grounds of
misleading advertising, since the brand seems to promise poison and plague but
delivers only vodka.” Though the ATF lost its lawsuit against the brand’s US distributor,
the agency ultimately seemed to have won the battle.
In October 1996, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Saul “Slash” Hudson, a brand spokesperson
at the time who was often photographed in a Black Death Vodka T-shirt, told the
unofficial Guns N’ Roses website Heretodaygonetohell.com, “Black Death paid me a
bunch of money to endorse them and then disappeared.”
Today UK distiller G&J Greenall distributes Black Death in several varieties, including
vodka, tequila, and gin. Not to be confused with Black Death Premium Deer Urine, a
hunting decoy, the spirits brand can be found in 70 nations and claims annual sales of
over 120 million bottles and cans. (Supposedly, it is the only vodka available in cans.)
Greenall also asserts that Black Death has won 27 medals from the International Wine
and Spirit Association since 1990.
Humble attempts to learn more concrete information about the Black Death brand
proved fruitless. Though G&J Greenall provided brandchannel with Black Death’s US
distributor, with which Greenall has no working partnership, all attempts at contact
have gone unanswered. An extensive search through some of the most well-stocked
liquor stores in New York City not only produced no Black Death, but also no
knowledge of where it might be found. Ditto the Internet, where the most common
response from online spirits shops was “Temp Out of Stock” (though there appears to
be nothing temporary about it).
Recent news about the brand hasn’t been good. A massively destructive distillery fire
in October 2005 followed a May 2005 fine of £2 million for illegal distribution of Black
Death Vodka. One might say a pox is on its house.
Info on the Back of the Bottle: n/a
Other Info: While this information is mostly based towards the Black Death Vodka, it
does give you an insite into the brand and company. Here is an excerpt from
BrandChannel.com:
"The brand probably started out as moonshine. A clear, potent drink developed in 1906
by a family called Sigurdsson, the spirit got its moniker from the local Icelandic, “Svarta
Daudi,” or “Black Death.” One surmises this name must be the outcome of the pre-
distinguish “describe” phase. For the next 80 years, Black Death would stay largely out
of the spotlight.
Having bounced from distributor to distributor, reliable information on the brand’s
history is slim at best. It was in 1987 that the beet-based Black Death Vodka made its
mark, winning a London International Wine and Spirit Competition gold medal and
launching itself into a tumultuous half-decade of ups and downs.
Its bottles distinguished with a smiling, top-hatted skull, Black Death began to see
problems in 1990 when the Scarborough Football Club was banned from wearing
jerseys sponsored by Black Death. Then, in April 1992, reporting on the then Belgian-
produced Black Death, Time magazine stated that “the [US] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms [ATF], with exquisite literalness, is blocking the liquor on grounds of
misleading advertising, since the brand seems to promise poison and plague but
delivers only vodka.” Though the ATF lost its lawsuit against the brand’s US distributor,
the agency ultimately seemed to have won the battle.
In October 1996, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Saul “Slash” Hudson, a brand spokesperson
at the time who was often photographed in a Black Death Vodka T-shirt, told the
unofficial Guns N’ Roses website Heretodaygonetohell.com, “Black Death paid me a
bunch of money to endorse them and then disappeared.”
Today UK distiller G&J Greenall distributes Black Death in several varieties, including
vodka, tequila, and gin. Not to be confused with Black Death Premium Deer Urine, a
hunting decoy, the spirits brand can be found in 70 nations and claims annual sales of
over 120 million bottles and cans. (Supposedly, it is the only vodka available in cans.)
Greenall also asserts that Black Death has won 27 medals from the International Wine
and Spirit Association since 1990.
Humble attempts to learn more concrete information about the Black Death brand
proved fruitless. Though G&J Greenall provided brandchannel with Black Death’s US
distributor, with which Greenall has no working partnership, all attempts at contact
have gone unanswered. An extensive search through some of the most well-stocked
liquor stores in New York City not only produced no Black Death, but also no
knowledge of where it might be found. Ditto the Internet, where the most common
response from online spirits shops was “Temp Out of Stock” (though there appears to
be nothing temporary about it).
Recent news about the brand hasn’t been good. A massively destructive distillery fire
in October 2005 followed a May 2005 fine of £2 million for illegal distribution of Black
Death Vodka. One might say a pox is on its house.
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