2020 – Collections: Black Death Vodka
(ignore May 1, 2017 publish date – this was published on April 1, 2020)
You may have seen the above pic before in the “2019 Collections – Signs of Illumination” post, where I mentioned that “One of the shown brands will be the subject of a future post.”
The future has arrived.
Of all the brands in that post – https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=8452 – raise your hand if you thought it would be Black Death Vodka……….hmmm, I don’t see any hands.
So why am I championing something with such a horrible-sounding name – especially in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic? I’m not. I’m just mentioning something that came along in the late 80s and never gave me a hangover, which was rare.
The fact that Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash endorsed it and I shot a lot of GNR shows didn’t enter into it, though I DID find it funny, given the top-hat connection. There’s a video about that – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9XDKBFRJw&feature=emb_logo (if you have 13 and a half minutes to waste).
A couple of years later BDV was gone. My understanding was that the government claimed that the skull was a symbol for poison, so BDV had to go (don’t tell the Feds, but I DID write somewhere that BDV was my favorite poison of the early 90s).
Since it was now banned (and has since come back in some form), I decided to gather as much BDV memorabilia as I could find and I found a LOT of stuff – some of which I had no idea even existed.
I’m guessing you’d like to see it all, so here goes:
T-SHIRTS
I know I have a BD Vodka one around somewhere, but I can’t find it, so here are two others I have: a Malt Liquor one and a Tequila one (front and back):
COFFINS
Yes – you could buy BDV in its own coffin! They’re pretty rare…………I just found two on eBay offered for $250 EACH (one of them is cracked down the center of the front)………….and I have 3 of them in very good condition:
Here they are open. I’ve placed 3 different-sized BDV bottles in them:
I seem to recall something about fake BDV coffins. I don’t know if I have any of those, but there ARE significant differences in them – mainly the latches. Two of them close on the left side and one closes on the right. No two latches of mine look the same, except for the fact that they’re a bit dusty:
I don’t exactly keep them hidden…………..they’re on my kitchen counter and are highly visible when you walk in my front door:
KEYCHAIN
Is there ANY product that doesn’t have its own keychain?
CASE/BOX
I don’t imagine there are very many BDV cases around:
THESE THINGS EXIST?
There are 3 things that I had no idea existed: Black Death Vodka in a can, Black Death CIGARETTES(!) and Black Death rolling papers:
Or – if you prefer – here are the Slashified photo versions (his Les Paul has been replaced by an inferior – but more colorful – axe……….and I’ve found a new use for the whammy bar):
THE STASH
I have about 30 empty BDV bottles, plus 5 unopened tiny ones and most of the other goodies stored in a cabinet………………..which reminds me: they all have caps (someone’s selling an empty BDV bottle for $200……….without the cap! If someone pays that much, think what all these could be worth WITH the caps.
Here’s one of the little 50ml bottles with its birth certificate:
I haven’t dug into that cabinet in years and was surprised to find this old bottle:
I wonder what THAT’S worth (considering it has about an inch of sediment in it, probably nothing, Bob).
On an unrelated note, HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY!
AND on a very belated note (2 years later), look what I just found in the back of a closet:
Not the best-looking cap I’ve ever seen……………can you blame me for burying it?
LATE ADDITION:
Well, look what I found two-and-a-half-years later under a pile of clothes in a closet:
Now that was COOL !
Good talking to you last night, stay well.
Thanks for the laughs, Bob—so needed right now on April 1, 2020. You sure do have one badass collection! Stay safe, be well, and keep posting!
I have an original, unopened bottle with casket all in pristine condition. I bought it when I was a kid before they discontinued, and kept in storage ever since. Message me if youd like to offer on it. Taki g offers over the next two weeks and i will take best offer. I can offer photos
Oh, scottbrucelewis@gmail.com if youd like to contact me. I will assure seller is of legal age, and im not selling for consumption but for collectable purposes.