Fireball sued because not all of its mini bottles actually contain whiskey
Fireball isn’t what you think it is, according to a class action lawsuit.
Food & Wine reports a lawsuit, which was filed against Sazerac Company, Inc., the makers of Fireball, alleges the company is misleading customers with their labeling.
Here’s the issue: There’s Fireball Cinnamon, then there’s also Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
According to the legal filing, Anna Marquez saw a “huge” display of Fireball Cinnamon at a gas station and wondered if the station was “doing something they’re not supposed to be doing.”
“The Washington Post” reported the both come in miniature bottle packaging and look similar, but the label for the Fireball Cinnamon states that it’s a “Malt Beverage with Natural Whisky & Other Flavors and Caramel Color.”
“Using the words ‘With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors’ is a clever turn of phrase because consumers who strain to read this will [not] see how it [sic] ‘Natural Whisky’ is distinct from ‘Other Flavors,’” the lawsuit reads. “They will think the product is a malt beverage with added natural whisky and other flavors. What the label means to say is that the product contains ‘Natural Whisky Flavors & Other Flavors,’ but by not including the word ‘Flavors’ after ‘Natural Whisky,’ purchasers who look closely will expect the distilled spirit of whisky was added as a separate ingredient.”
Fireball, on the other hand, countered, stating that Fireball Cinnamon can be differentiated from its boozier counterpart by “the words Fireball Cinnamon on the front label, without ‘Whisky.’”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.