Fans of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky are seeing red after some customers discovered that mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon sold at convenience stores and other locations contain no whiskey.
The tiny bottles of booze instead are a blend of a malt beverage and wine with the addition of flavorings and color. And it’s the lack of transparency about the difference between the two products that has prompted some consumers to sue the products’ maker, Sazerac Co.
Tailgaters, we’ve been deceived. This is a serious concern 🥃 #Fireballhttps://t.co/iMBTAyCxPS
— Patrick Nurse ✊🏾⚔️🖤💛🏀🏳️🌈 (@PatrickNurseFTW) January 27, 2023
The description of Fireball Cinnamon says it’s a “malt beverage with natural whisky & other flavors and carmel color,” which consumers took to mean the product contained whiskey, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. But it’s the lack of whiskey that allows the 99-cent bottles of Fireball Cinnamon to be sold at a wider variety of stores — more than 170,000 locations nationwide — including those that aren’t permitted to sell liquor.
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The complaint says that “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.” Since consumers have been shelling out $1 apiece for mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon, the lawsuit says the lack of whiskey means they’re being overcharged.
Editor’s note: The headline of this article has been revised since publication to clarify which product is the source of the lawsuit.
