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Google PlayAccording to a lawsuit, the tiny mini-bottles of Fireball Cinnamon sold at gas stations and grocery stores don’t have any whiskey in them, and instead, merely contain “whiskey flavor.”
Per The Washington Post, the suit, filed by Anna Marquez on Jan. 7 in the United States District Court Northern District Of Illinois, accuses the brand’s parent company of profiting off deceptive labeling and false marketing tactics.
Fireball Cinnamon, which is made by the company Sazerac, has multiple products that include malt-based and wine-based alcoholic beverages designed to “capture the essence” of the original Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, but the catch is that the 99-cent mini bottles only contain flavorings, hence why they can be sold at gas stations and grocery stores.
Lawyers for the plaintiff provided images of both “Fireball Cinnamon Whisky” and “Fireball Cinnamon” for comparison, and they showcased images of the latter bottles at a ShopRite supermarket in an undisclosed location. The suit focuses specifically on the labels of these two beverages, which they claim are virtually indistinguishable from each other and misleads “consumers into believing it is or contains distilled spirits.”
Marquez said she purchased multiple bottles of Fireball Cinnamon under the assumption they contained alcohol, but that closer inspection of the fine-print text on the bottles show the bottles merely contain “Natural Whisky & Other Flavors.” Marquez noted the company’s “clever turn of phrase,” adding that “consumers who strain to read” the label will assume the phrase “Natural Whisky” is a separate item from “Other Flavors.”
“When viewed together with the Fireball distilled spirit brand name, the label misleads consumers into believing it is or contains distilled spirits,” reads the suit, adding federal and identical state regulations allow the brand name of Fireball to be used on the malt-and wine-based versions
The suit adds, “They will think the Product is a malt beverage with added (1) natural whisky and (2) 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.”
The suit claims the mistake was “an easy mistake to make and one intended by the manufacturer.”
The suit, submitted by Spencer Sheehan and Associates, is seeking to cover anyone in Illinois, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Arizona, South Carolina or Utah who purchased Fireball Cinnamon believing it to be alcoholic. The filing adds that financial damages for plaintiffs would surpass “$5 million, including any statutory and punitive damages.”
The suit seeks to represent “more than 100” plaintiffs in addition to Marquez who purchased the beverage at “thousands of stores including grocery stores, big box stores, gas stations and convenience stores.” In a statement to Today.com, Sazerac refused to comment on ongoing litigation.
