Fireball lawsuit filed in Illinois alleges mini-bottles sold at markets, gas stations don’t contain whiskey

CHICAGO– A civil lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that the Fireball mini-bottles do not contain whiskey as claimed on the label.

The label of Fireball sold in liquor stores reads “Natural Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey”. The subject of the class action, which was filed in Illinois, relates to mini-bottles sold at gas stations and markets.

“What consumers were buying in non-liquor stores is not whiskey at all,” even though the labels on the mini bottles are almost identical, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the labels on the mini Fireball bottles, which can be purchased for $0.99, state that they contain “natural whiskey flavors.” & other flavors”, but in reality this is not the case.

The labels on the mini bottles are nearly indistinguishable from Fireball liquor store labels, except that they say “Fireball Cinnamon” with no mention of whiskey, as it is a whiskey-flavored malt beverage.

The lawsuit accuses the company of intentionally misleading customers into thinking they are buying small bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, and says the plaintiff paid more than she should have or a product that thought it contained real whisky.

“Defendant was aware of the product attributes that potential customers like Plaintiff were looking for and developed its marketing and labeling to directly meet their needs and desires, namely the consumption of distilled spirits instead of a malt beverage,” states the trial.

CNN contributed to this report