ON THE ROCKS

Mini Bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Don’t Actually Contain Whisky: Lawsuit

A plaintiff wants $5 million after claiming customers are being misled.

Mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon don’t actually contain any whisky. Instead, the beverage is “malt-based and wine-based,” giving the drink a lower alcohol percentage than the whisky-based Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and allows it to be sold in gas stations and other stores that can’t sell hard liquor. Now the drinks’ maker, Sazerac Company, is being sued for allegedly making Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and Fireball Cinnamon appear to be the same thing so that customers can’t tell the difference. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Jan. 7, alleges that the two products’ bottles “appear identical” except for the word “whisky.”