Already in Hot Water Over Fireball Controversy, Sazerac Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Mini Southern Comfort Bottles Sold at Gas Stations Mislead Consumers

Would you be likely to notice that the miniature Southern Comfort bottle is a malt beverage containing 21% ABV, while the larger one is identified as a “spirit whiskey?” (Photo: TikTok/kerriannebuck)

On Feb. 8, a Bronx, New York resident named Christina Del Rosario launched a class-action lawsuit against beverage giant Sazerac, alleging that the company’s miniature bottles of its popular Southern Comfort whiskey liqueur, commonly sold in gas stations and other places where selling hard liquor is illegal, are misleading consumers.

“The similarity between the two versions creates an overall misleading impression created as to the malt beverage variety,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit pointed to a video posted on TikTok, which compared a regular bottle of Southern Comfort, which contains 35% ABV, with its miniature counterpart. The smaller bottle appears nearly identical in terms of labeling except for its lower alcohol content of 21%. Small print classifies the mini bottle as a “malt beverage with natural flavors,” while the larger bottle is marked “spirit whiskey with natural flavors.”

@kerriannebuck Southern comfort at NY gas stations!! #gettingrobbed #southerncomfort #itsascam #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Kerri-Anne Buck

The lawsuit alleges that by using the same labeling, Sazerac is leading consumers to mistake the malt-based, lower-ABV version of the drink as the original Southern Comfort. The packaging of the miniature bottles contains identical colors, themes, fonts, symbols, spacing and outer grooves to the original Southern Comfort bottles.

The lawsuit claims that the text on the bottle that reads “Malt Beverage With Natural Whiskey Flavors, Caramel Color and Oak Extract” is difficult to read without the use of a magnifying glass.

Furthermore, the lawsuit says the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has ruled that the use of the term “whiskey” — such as the Southern Comfort bottling saying “with natural whiskey flavors” — “misleads consumers to expect its alcohol content to be mainly from that spirit.” The lawsuit also takes issue with Sazerac’s use of the words “Oak Extract” on the label, which it says could mislead consumers into believing the beverage is made from a base spirit that was aged in oak barrels — such as whiskey.

According to the lawsuit, Del Rosario purchased the mini bottles at gas stations and/or convenience stores in Bronx County and “expected the mini Southern Comfort contained whisky and/or other distilled spirits in a non-de minimis amount” based on the packaging. The lawsuit says the plaintiff paid more for these products than she would have if she had “known the representations and omissions were false and misleading” — and may have opted not to purchase them at all.

The mini bottles are sold at 99 cents per 50-milliliter bottle, which the lawsuit alleges is a “premium price.”

Last month, Sazerac was faced with a nearly identical lawsuit over its miniature bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky in a story that made national headlines.

Many states outlaw selling hard liquor anywhere except for liquor stores, which has led to confusion among consumers who noticed small bottles of Fireball and Southern Comfort begin appearing on shelves in gas stations, grocery stores and bodegas.

Any residents of New York, West Virginia, Montana, New Mexico, Alabama, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Mississippi, Alaska and South Carolina who purchased the product during the statutes of limitations for each cause of action alleged are eligible to join the class-action lawsuit.

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