In 2014, Fireball Whisky made headlines after being recalled for containing an ingredient common in anti-freeze. As people are not cars, this was naturally disturbing. Refinery29 reported that the recall occurred in Europe, specifically Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The recall was for an ingredient called propylene glycol, which is used as both a mild sweetener and also in less toxic versions of anti-freeze. The CDC considers propylene glycol generally safe, and it's used in many products across the United States. The levels of propylene glycol in the recalled batch, however, did not match the European Union standards.

Fortunately, parent company Sazerac notes that Fireball no longer contains any propylene glycol, nor any anti-freeze components.