If you are sipping on a cinnamon flavored whisky, it might not be the brand you think it is. The makers of Fireball have filed a trademark and trade dress infringement lawsuit against Fire Flask whisky for being too similar to the spicy spirit.

Sazerac Company, Inc. is the U.S. distributor of the Canadian born Fireball. Fireball is a Canadian whisky flavored with real, natural cinnamon and is the top selling cinnamon whisky in North America. (It reminds me of Big Red gum in liquid form.) Fireball was originally developed by Seagram Company Ltd. and marketed and sold under the name “Dr. McGillicuddy’s Fireball Whisky” exclusively in Canada. Sazerac purchased the worldwide rights to the brand in 2000 and began distributing cinnamon whisky under the FIREBALL trademark shortly thereafter. In 2006, Fireball began distributing the bottle below that features the “Dragon-Man” logo.

In June 2015, the Stout Brewing Company out of North Carolina started distributing Fire Flask whisky. Fire Flask is also a cinnamon whisky featuring an image of a devilish character on its bottle. Stout is about to be granted a trademark registration for the FIRE FLASK mark in a class covering “beer”; Sazerac did not oppose the registration of the trademark. According to Sazerac, Defendant chose its FIRE FLASK mark and packaging to exploit and trade on the longstanding goodwill, reputation, and success of the Fireball product and to create a likelihood of consumer confusion in the marketplace.

Sazerac wants Fire Flask taken off the market, damages, attorneys’ fees and even wants Stout to pay for 12 months of corrective advertising to clear up any confusion. So if you were at a bar or at a liquor store and saw the two bottles below next to each other would you be confused to think that Fire Flask is endorsed by or associated with Fireball? Its pretty clear that there are similarities between the two marks and trade dress. If they need some volunteers to see if the brands taste similarly, I will gladly volunteer my expert services.

