If there is one drink that people take seriously, it’s whiskey, and a new class action lawsuit is targeting a company for not including any in their well-known drinks.
The suit, filed in Cook County, Illinois, on January 7th, is targeting the makers of Fireball Cinnamon, alleging that the packaging is deceptive. According to the complaint, the booze claims to “capture the essence” of the original Fireball Cinnamon Whisky but doesn’t actually contain any whiskey.
Fireball Cinnamon is typically sold in miniature bottles in gas stations and grocery stores. They’ve always appealed to customers, mainly for their 99 cents price point.
According to the company’s website, Fireball Cinnamon products actually “include malt-based and wine-based alcoholic beverages.” The beverage is only flavored to taste like whiskey, without actually including the liquor so that it could be sold in places that are not permitted to sell liquor.
On the other hand, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky comes in larger bottles and includes the smoky-tasting alcohol.
Plaintiff Anna Marquez is the one who kicked off the suit with her lawyers presenting strong evidence that the two beverages can lead to confusion with their similar packaging. Placed side by side, images of both Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and Fireball Cinnamon show the same colors, fonts, and red devil logo. Marquez says this caused her to purchase the smaller bottles, believing she was getting a whiskey sip.
Fireball Cinnamon also features fine print that reads “With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors,” further tricking consumers into thinking they are buying the popular brown liquor.
Attorney firm Spencer Sheehan and Associates is looking to represent anyone in Illinois, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah who purchased Fireball Cinnamon. Per the filing, the suit is seeking over $5 million in damages.
Parent company Sazerac has not publicly commented on the ongoing litigation.
