Class action claims mini Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita bottles not actual tequila

Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita bottles overview: 

• Who: Plaintiffs Malcolm Bethea, Joseph Vazquez and Mariahlee Spahn filed a class action lawsuit against Sazerac Co. Inc. 
• Why: The plaintiffs claim that Sazerac’s mini Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita bottles deceivingly contain malt beverage, instead of the tequila and triple-sec that the larger bottled version contains, according to the lawsuit.
• Where: The mini bottles class action was filed in New York federal court.

Consumers filed a mini bottles class action claiming that Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita mini bottles deceivingly contain malt beverage instead of the tequila and triple-sec that the larger bottled version contains.

The malt beverage version can be sold in more places and has fewer quality ingredients, aiming at imitating the full-sized Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita bottles without including the regular ingredients

The Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita tequila version is what made Chi-Chi’s and the margaritas famous, according to the class action.

“Only the most eagle-eyed observers noticed what some have described as this ‘awful trick,’ noting what appears to be intentional similarities between the tequila-based margarita and the ‘malt version’ without tequila,” the lawsuit says.

Margarita mini bottles, full-sized bottles have same colors, themes, name

The confusion comes because the mini bottle versions of Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita have the same colors, theme, fonts, graphics and items, such as the Chi-Chi’s logo, cap in identical color, with identical grooves as the regular distilled spirit version, the lawsuit says.

The term “malt beverage” is only introduced on the mini bottles at the bottom of the bottle in the smallest allowed print, unlikely to be seen by consumers, the class action says.

The Chi-Chi’s mini bottle class action is one of several similar lawsuits against Sazerac Co. including claims that mini Southern Comfort bottles sold at gas stations and convenience stores don’t actually contain whiskey, Parrot Bay malt beverage in mini bottles does not contain actual rum and mini bottles of its Fireball Cinnamon product do not contain whisky.

Have you purchased the mini bottle version of Chi-Chi’s Original Margarita? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and James Chung of Chung Law Firm PC.

The Mini bottles class action lawsuit is Bethea, et al. v. Sazerac Co. Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-03747, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Brooklyn Courthouse.

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