Propylene glycol
How a batch of cinnamon whiskey led to total recall
One afternoon in October 2014, student-partygoers across Europe woke up to find that one of their favourite night time tipples had been removed from shop-shelves – apparently because it contained high levels of an ingredient used in antifreeze. Fireball cinnamon whisky caused something of a stir after a batch intended for the North American market was accidentally shipped across the Atlantic, with a propylene glycol content deemed unacceptable by European regulators.
So what was all the fuss about? Why would a batch of whisky containing propylene glycol be perfectly fine to drink in the US but not in Europe?