Fireball has long been a staple liquor for college students 21 and older. It’s affordable, widely available, and has a fun flavor. If you consider yourself a fan, you might want to keep reading, because according to ClassAction.org, Sazerac, the manufacturer of “Fireball Cinnamon Whisky,” is being sued in a class action lawsuit for purposefully obscure and misleading business practices.
What is the lawsuit against Fireball?
If you’ve ever been into a gas station or your local 7-Eleven, you might have seen the smaller bottles of Fireball near the register. While these single-serving bottles look, in almost every way, identical to the larger bottles of liquor, in reality, they may not actually contain any whiskey.
According to the Fireball FAQ page, the difference between the two products is that “Fireball Cinnamon products include malt-based and wine-based (currently in Oregon only) alcoholic beverages, whereas Fireball Whisky is whisky-based.”
Basically, Sazerac manufactures two different products: Fireball Cinnamon and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. The latter actually contains Canadian whisky, while the former is composed of “natural whisky and other flavors” according to the lawsuit.
While you might think that there’s nothing wrong with the manufacturer selling two different products, it’s become an issue because of how hard it is to differentiate between the two bottles. The labels are virtually identical and customers going into their local convenience store searching for Fireball may have a hard time telling the difference unless they really took the time to read the fine print. What makes this even worse is that the knockoff Fireball only has an ABV of 16.5%, according to Whiskey Raiders, whereas real Fireball comes in with an ABV of 33%.
How do I know if I qualify for the Fireball class action lawsuit?
Have you bought what you thought was Fireball in a convenience store recently? You might qualify for the class action suit if you made the purchase in North Dakota, Alaska, Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Arkansas, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Kansas, Utah, or South Carolina. According to The Washington Post, the damages being sought could total to over $5 million. Currently, only a complaint has been filed, so no damages have been distributed. But Spoon will update as this lawsuit unfolds.