Fireball Cinnamon class action claims mini bottles not actual whisky

Fireball Cinnamon class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Anna Marquez filed a class action lawsuit against Sazerac Co. Inc. 
• Why: Marquez claims Sazerac misleads consumers who purchase its Fireball Cinnamon mini product while expecting it to contain whisky. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the product in question is Fireball Cinnamon rather than Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

Sazerac Co. misleads consumers who expect mini bottles of its Fireball Cinnamon product to contain whisky, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Anna Marquez claims Sazerac misleads consumers who confuse its Fireball Cinnamon mini bottles — a malt beverage sold for 99 cents — with its Fireball Cinnamon Whisky product. 

Marquez argues the bottles for Fireball Cinnamon “appear identical” to the Fireball Cinnamon Whisky product, aside from them not containing the word “Whisky” on their front label, something “most purchasers seeking alcohol will not even detect.” 

“When viewed together with the Fireball distilled spirit brand name, the label misleads consumers into believing it is or contains distilled spirits,” the Fireball class action states. 

Fireball Cinnamon purchasers led to believe product has added natural whisky, class action says

Sazerac further misleads consumers by labeling its Fireball Cinnamon product with the words “Malt Beverage With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors and Carmel Color,” confusing purchasers into thinking it is a malt beverage with added natural whisky, the Fireball class action alleges. 

“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,” the Fireball class action states. 

Marquez claims Sazerac is guilty of unjust enrichment, fraud and negligent misrepresentation and in violation of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and several state consumer fraud acts. 

Marquez wants to represent an Illinois class and multistate consumer fraud class of individuals who have purchased a mini bottle of Fireball Cinnamon within the statutes of limitations for each alleged cause of action. 

She demands a jury trial and requests injunctive relief along with an award of monetary, statutory and/or punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

In other booze news, last month, Coca-Cola asked a federal judge in New York to dismiss claims it misleadingly labels its Topo Chico brand ready-to-drink hard margherita products because they don’t contain any tequila.

Have you purchased a Fireball Cinnamon mini bottle? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC. 

The Fireball Cinnamon class action lawsuit is Marquez, et al. v. Sazerac Co. Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-00097, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

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