The Spirits Business reported on Friday that Sergio García’s golf team lost a partial trademark battle against Sazerac over the use of the name “Fireball.” Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is owned by Sazerac.
The team originally had the name “Fireballs GC,” and filed its trademark application in 2022. García serves as the captain of the golfing team, and the Spanish celebrity athlete has won 36 international tournaments.
Sazerac claimed that the “Fireballs GC” name might confuse the public into thinking that the sports team shares an affiliation with the cinnamon-flavored whisky. The whiskey powerhouse staunchly defended its trademark, especially in relation to merchandise. It also went after the team for using the name Fireballs GC for entertainment services — such as golf tournaments and matches.
Sazerac won the complaint regarding using the Fireball name for goods and merchandise involving Garcia’s team. Yet the firm lost its complaint regarding entertainment services.
Other Legal Battles Involving Sazerac
In other legal news for Sazerac, a judge moved forward with a class action lawsuit against the company in September. The lawsuit claims that Sazerac misinformed consumers about reduced ABV in mini bottles of Fireball Whisky and Parrot Bay Rum.
Gas stations typically sell these small, malt-based whiskies, and such was the case for this particular suit, which Sharon Pizarro filed in 2023. Pizarro claimed that she purchased mini bottles of Fireball at a gas station in New York, believing that they were whisky.
She noticed that the ABV was 16.5% over Fireball’s standard 33% ABV, and felt duped. Pizarro alleged that had she known it was not authentic liquor, she would have never purchased it. She took her complaint a step further and called the labels a “bait-and-switch scheme.”
Other brands under the Sazerac company, like Parrot Bay Rum, face similar claims in court. Cindy Koonce sued Sazerac claiming that she believed her small container of Parrot Bay Rum clocked in at 21% ABV. Instead, it possessed the malt liquor base like the Fireball Whiskies. Koonce alleged that the word “rum” was not written on the Parrot Bay malt version, which led to confusion.
Both plaintiffs allege that the labels are too similar to their higher ABV counterparts, which leads to further confusion on behalf of the customer.
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