by Fireball Cinnamon followers be warned — the mini bottles of the fiery drink you are selecting up on the comfort retailer don’t truly contain any whiskey.
In truth, the drink is a malt beverage flavored to style like whiskey, a lot to the dismay of Anna Marquez — the Illinois lady who’s suing Sazerac Company, the maker of Fireball, for “deceptive” packaging.
The class-action lawsuit, which was filed by Marquez earlier this month, alleges that the labeling on the small 99-cent bottles of Fireball Cinnamon look misleadingly just like the labeling on bottles of its different product, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky has 33% alcohol by quantity, whereas Fireball Cinnamon has 16.5% alcohol by quantity, in keeping with the corporate’s web site.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Customers “anticipating these small bottles labeled ‘Fireball Cinnamon’ to contain whiskey ‘was a straightforward mistake to make, and one supposed by the producer,'” the swimsuit reads. “In truth, what shoppers have been buying at non-liquor shops ‘[was] not whiskey in any respect’ although the[ir] labels are nearly an identical.”
The lawsuit alleges that whereas it’s authorized for the corporate to make use of the model identify of “Fireball” for each drinks, federal and state laws prohibits creating an total “deceptive impression.”
In addition to comparable labels, the lawsuit complains concerning the textual content measurement on Fireball Cinnamon’s label describing its composition. The declare alleges that the phrasing, “Malt Beverage With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors and Carmel Color” is written within the “smallest allowed measurement.”
The use of the phrase “pure whisky” creates misunderstandings concerning the product, the lawsuit additionally states.
“Using the phrases ‘With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors’ is a intelligent flip of phrase because shoppers who pressure to learn this may see how ‘Natural Whisky’ is distinct from ‘Other Flavors,'” the lawsuit reads.
Customers “will suppose the Product is a malt beverage with added (1) pure whisky and (2) different flavors,” it added.
In different phrases, consumers might imagine that pure whisky is added to the drink as a separate ingredient, reasonably than understanding that solely “whisky flavors” are added.
On the Fireball web site, the corporate spells out the distinction between its whisky and malt merchandise.
“There are 2 key variations between the Fireball Cinnamon labels vs the Fireball Whisky label: Any bundle with Fireball ‘Cinnamon Whisky’ on the entrance label is our whisky-based product,” the positioning explains. “Any product with Fireball ‘Cinnamon’ on the entrance label, with out ‘Whisky’, is both our malt-based or wine-based product.”
The lawsuit, although filed solely by Marquez, seeks to cowl anybody in Illinois, North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas, Arkansas, and Utah who has bought Fireball Cinnamon.
