Early Times heats up whiskey with Fire Eater

Kentucky whiskey Early Times has joined several of its American counterparts in releasing a flavoured whiskey with the launch of Fire Eater.

Early Times’ Fire Eater is the first flavoured extension for the brand

A hot cinnamon flavoured whiskey liqueur, Fire Eater combines cinnamon liqueur with aged Early Times whisky for a warm and smooth character with baked cinnamon and brown sugar notes.

The bottle is designed to reflect the turn of the century carnival era, with red and white stripes and an illustration of a carnival Big Top tent dominating the label.

Therese McGuire, brand manager for Early Times, said: “With Early Times Fire Eater we wanted to deliver a level of curiosity and fun while ensuring the taste consumers have come to expect from Early Times. One look at a bottle of Early Times Fire Eater and you’re taken back to a time when carnivals would travel the country bringing astonishing acts of amazement to the community.”

Its design is a stark contrast to its cinnamon-flavoured competitors on the US market, Jim Beam’s Red Stag Spiced, Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Cinnamon, Hood River Distillers’ SinFire and Sazerac’s Canadian whisky Fireball, the latter two of which were emblazoned in a court row over brand copyright earlier this year.

Early Times has released a series of cocktail suggestions designed for both US bartenders at at-home drinkers, including the Elephant Man, featuring orange juice and lemon lime soda, and Stilt Walker, featuring amaretto, strange juice and Sprite.

Early Time Fire Eater, which has an abv of 33% and an RRP of $15.99, will initially be available in select cities in Kentucky, Indiana, Washington, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin and California, with more to follow in 2012.