The foundation stone was set in 1906 when the family Sigurdsson first time a spirit under the name “Svarti Dauoi” ( Icelandic created for “Black Death”). The next 80 years, remained calm, only in 1987 was the brand (now under the currently known name “Black Death” sold) known to a wider audience than the Black Death Vodka surprisingly the Gold Medal of the ” International Wine and Spirit Competition “won ,

A first setback in 1990 when the American Football League sponsored by the Black Death t-shirts Scarborough Football Club with the inscription Black Death Vodka – Prohibition Drink in Peace.

In 1992, the brand was brought to more problems than the US ” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “banned the sale of the now produced in Belgium Black Death Vodka in the United States. The official reason was according to Time Magazine, the misleading advertising, with which the manufacturer would advertise the spirit drink as poison and disease, by giving you but actually only Vodka gets.
“[The ATF] is blocking the liquor on grounds of misleading advertising, since the brand Seems to promise poison and plague but delivers only vodka.”

The then American distributor complained against the decision and won in court in October 1992, since Black Death was again legal in the United States.

In the course of the 1992 revised brand design and logo and now showed the well-known today Skull cylinder (or varying depending Spirituosenart headgear). The comprehensive change appearance and advertising supplements such as a wooden coffin pulled one though again the displeasure of the ATF to be that now about the alleged contempt of official warnings complained drinking age; However, a new ban is not followed.

Although the brand still was on the upswing – sold in 70 countries worldwide 120 million bottles & cans annually and won, according to the British manufacturer G & J Greenall since 1990. 27 medals of the ” International Wine and Spirit Association “- was it hard information about the brand to get their products and distribution channels, which is not least also Saul “Slash” Hudson , guitarist of the band ” Guns N ‘Roses “and at that time the face of Black Death marveled:” Black Death paid me a bunch of money to endorse them and then disappeared . “(” Black Death paid me a lot of money, so I support them, and then they simply disappeared. “)

In May 2005 Greenall was sentenced in England because of illegal distribution of Black Death Vodka to a fine of 2 million pounds, 5 months later, the next disaster, as in the in October occurred distillery a fire broke out, destroying large parts of the factory.