The company behind Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is facing a lawsuit over a misleading label.
Illinois woman Anna Marquez filed the lawsuit against Sazerac Company on Jan. 7 after she discovered that the miniature bottles of Fireball do not contain whisky at all but instead a “malt beverage with whisky flavor,” according to small print on the label. Besides this small caution, the labels of the miniature bottles are “almost identical” to the larger bottles of actual whisky, according to her lawsuit, which she is claiming is deceptive regarding the quality of the liquors.
Sazerac owns over 450 other liquor brands, including Fireball. The company declined to comment on the litigation to the Washington Examiner.
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Marquez is seeking statutory and punitive damages over what she claims is a deceptive label that was “intended by the manufacturer.” She claims she has paid a “premium price” for the product, which she was led to believe contained whisky.
“While people are familiar with malt beverages, the concept of selling a malt beverage in such a small little bottle is not what we expect,” Marquez’s lawyer Spencer Sheehan, with Sheehan & Associates, told the Washington Examiner. “People are used to distilled spirits being sold in small bottles.”
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Sheehan anticipates the outcome of this filing will result in the company more conspicuously informing its customers about its product so it is not confused with the whisky.
“You can’t blame companies for trying to maximize their profits,” Sheehan said. “Sometimes those efforts I believe can go a little bit too far.”
