Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is currently one of the most popular liqueurs sold in the United States, alongside Patron tequila and Jameson Irish Whiskey. Its meteoric rise in popularity began in 2007 when they rebranded. Originally, Fireball was made under the brand Dr. McGillicuddy’s. The Dr. is a fictional 19th-century western bartender who was the namesake of a line of flavored schnapps and liqueurs produced by Seagrams, a Canadian liquor producer known for its whisky, Seagrams 7.
In the mid-1980s, Dr. Mcgillicuddy’s Fireball Whisky was sold alongside flavored schnapps such as Mentholmint, Peach, Black Licorice, Cherry, Butterscotch, Vanilla, and more. In 1989, Seagrams was sold to The Sazerac Company, which in 2007 removed the doctor’s name from the Fireball bottle but kept the iconic antique medicine bottle shape. Following the success of the cinnamon-flavored whisky, Sazerac has started producing other flavored whiskeys: blackberry, peach, honey, and apple.
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Fireball has always been bottled at 33% ABV, while the newer flavored whiskies are at 30%, and most of the other schnapps flavors are at 15% ABV.
Fireball Whisky Price List 2022
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is available in all sizes, from 50 ml to 1.75 ml bottles. You can even find “party buckets”, which are small sealed buckets with 20–50 ml bottles; just remove the lid and add ice; as well as a 3.5-liter “bag-in-box” format.
The 50 ml shooters are usually available at your local liquor store right by the counter for $1 a piece, so figure $20 for the party bucket at that same store. A one-liter bottle usually retails for around $19.99, and the 3.5-liter bag-in-box is around $60-$65. Shots at the bar can vary from $2 or $3 for a special promotion, or $7-$10 if you’re in a nightclub or large arena.
Below are the latest Fireball prices, along with their bottle sizes and ABV.
| Type | Size | Price | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey | 50ml | $1.49 - $2.99 | 33% |
| 375ml | $6.99 - $10.99 | ||
| 750ml | $11.99 - $19.99 | ||
| 1.75L | $18.99 - $29.99 |
Alternatives to Fireball at Comparable Prices
Fireball shooting to the top of the sales charts by all metrics in the United States did not go unnoticed by its competitors, of course. While it may not be considered a “real whiskey” by most whiskey drinkers in the world, many “real” whiskey distilleries followed suit and began releasing their own cinnamon-flavored whiskey.
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, priced $19.99-$29.99, and SinFire Cinnamon Whiskey faced a small bit of litigation from Sazerac, but one suit was dropped and the other settled out of court. Jim Beam Kentucky Fire, however, did not face any legal scrutiny, though their first cinnamon whiskey was simply labeled as a cinnamon flavor of their Red Stag line of flavored whiskies. There’s Catch Fire and Flame Thrower. Revel Stoke makes a cinnamon whiskey now, as do Early Times and Bird Dog distilleries.
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Most, if not all, cinnamon whiskies are very sweet and syrupy, especially when left in the freezer. They usually taste more like liquid candy, like Big Red gum, Red Hots, or Hot Tamales, or any of your favorite cinnamon sweets. All are around the same price point, and maybe after you’ve tried one, you’ll want to try as many as you can to figure out exactly which one is your favorite. Be that as it may, no company has come close to being as ubiquitous as cinnamon-flavored whiskey as Dr. McGillicuddy’s Fireball, and none probably ever will.
Cocktails with Fireball Whisky
French Toast Shots
- .5 oz Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
- .5 oz Dr. McGillicuddy’s Butterscotch Schnapps
- .5 oz Irish Cream
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Combine all the ingredients in a mixing tin and fill it with ice. Shake and strain into a small glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Multiply the recipe evenly for multiple servings. Make up to 6 mixed shots at a time in a single mixing tin and tumbler set up.
Frozen Cinnamon Mudslide
Makes 2 drinks
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- 2.5 oz Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
- 2.5 oz Coffee Liqueur
- 2.5 oz Irish Cream
- 3 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 cup Ice
In a blender, combine everything EXCEPT FOR THE ICE and blend on high until smooth. Uncover the blender and add ice, then blend on high until the desired consistency is reached. Decorate the inside of a hurricane glass with chocolate syrup by lightly squeezing the bottle into a tilted glass. Rotate the glass and move the syrup from the bottom to the top of the glass, making a single swirled line. Pour in the cocktail and enjoy it!
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