Sam Amico
You can’t tell people you’re selling whisky when it’s not actually whiskey, but rather, malt liquor. That’s just wrong, but according to one Illinois citizen, that’s exactly what Fireball Whiskey did.
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So the citizen, identified as Anna Marquez of Chicago, decided to start a class action lawsuit.
Apparently, she alleged that the 99-cent Fireball Cinnamon “whiskey” bottles available at gas stations don’t have whiskey in them at all. Instead, it’s more like a “malt beverage flavored to taste like its cinnamon whiskey,” the lawsuit alleged, via NBC News.
Fireball Gets Sued!
Interestingly, Fireball does promote these little bottles as “Malt Beverage With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors and Carmel Color.”
But that’s not clear enough, according to the suit, which was jointly filed by the state of Illinois, Kansas, and several others.
“Unlike whisky which is a distilled spirit, a malt beverage is based on fermentation to
create a neutral base to which flavors and colors may be added,” the lawsuit reads. “When viewed together with the Fireball distilled spirit brand name, the label misleads consumers into believing it is or contains distilled spirits.”
False advertising is indeed punishable with fines and can lead to consumers getting their money back, not to mention the all-encompassing “damages.”
This, however, feels like a shot in the dark for those filing the suit. And from the sounds of things, neither Fireball nor their odds are winning are offering the type of shot they ordered.
