Recently, however, buckets of shot-sized Fireball and Parrot Bay rum have been stacking up at Tom Thumb and other local grocery stores. Has the state relaxed its stance and cannonballed into the deep end of the pool party, insisting everyone else jump in too? No, you filthy sinner.
A recent lawsuit is bringing the issue to the forefront: These grocery-store Fireball bottles actually contain malt liquor or wine, not cinnamon-flavored whiskey. The case is spearheaded by a lawyer who has made a living taking food and beverage companies to task for deceptive practices (like not enough strawberries in strawberry Pop-Tarts).
In the suit, plaintiff Anna Marquez claims that beverage maker Sazerac is misleading imbibers with bottles that contain malt liquor or wine but appear identical to the whisky bottles. The claim states that "Even the Fireball Cinnamon's statement of composition, in the smallest allowed size, draws particular attention to the apparent use of the distilled spirit of whisky, stating 'Malt Beverage With Natural Whisky & Other Flavors and Caramel Color.'"
So, the short of it: no, that's not real rum or whisky at the store. Just malt liquor or wine.
How strong is this particular version? According to the Fireball:
Fireball Cinnamon malt-based is 33 proof (16.5% alcohol by volume) and Fireball Cinnamon wine-based is 42 proof (21% alcohol by volume). Fireball Cinnamon contains less alcohol than our 66 proof Fireball Whisky.Perhaps they're doing us a favor — because who doesn't have at least one Fireball story? And did any of those end well?
