Fireball hides Torch'd Vanilla whisky inside a $10 romantasy book called the Vanilla Smut Stash with Off Campus star Antonio Cipriano

Key Takeaways

• Fireball has launched the Fireball Vanilla Smut Stash, a limited-edition spicy romantasy book with a secret compartment holding two 50mL bottles of its new Torch'd Vanilla flavour.

• The book costs $10 and goes on sale online to fans aged 21 and over on 21 and 28 October, both from 9am CST, at fireballwhisky.com/smutstash.

• Off Campus actor Antonio Cipriano plays the brand's leading man in a social video running on Instagram and TikTok.

• Fireball is also taking over The Ripped Bodice romance bookstore for after-hours parties in Los Angeles on 14 October and Brooklyn on 27 October.

We've all been on a flight or a train with a book, where you've felt the sudden urge to hide your pages and book from potential passerbys, well Fireball has flipped the idea and made the cover the spicy part. The cinnamon whisky brand has created the Fireball Vanilla Smut Stash, a steamy looking novel with a secret compartment holding two miniature bottles of its new Torch'd Vanilla flavour.

The book arrives with a leading man attached. Antonio Cipriano, who plays hockey player John Logan in Prime Video's Off Campus, stars in a social video for the launch, while the campaign borrows the language of the romance shelf, from slow burns to spice, to introduce a whisky built around vanilla and toasted marshmallow.

Fireball's $10 Vanilla Smut Stash hides two bottles of Torch'd Vanilla inside an original steamy story

Fireball owner Sazerac announced the Smut Stash on 13 October 2026, describing it as a limited-edition collectible inspired by the appetite on BookTok for romantasy and spicy novels. The cover is designed to look like a steamy novel, with fiery red and gold detailing and a smouldering Fireball Dragon on the front. Inside there is an original steamy short story, written to leave readers wanting more, and behind the pages sits a secret compartment holding two 50mL bottles of Torch'd Vanilla.

Fans aged 21 and over can buy the book for $10 on 21 October and 28 October, with both limited drops opening at 9am CST through Flaviar at fireballwhisky.com/smutstash.

The campaign also has a physical home with Fireball taking over The Ripped Bodice, which the brand describes as America's first all-romance bookstore, for two after-hours parties for guests aged 21 and over. The first takes place at the Los Angeles store on 14 October from 7 to 9pm, with a possible cameo from Cipriano, and the second at the Brooklyn store on 27 October from 7 to 9pm. Guests can sip Torch'd Vanilla and pick up a limited-edition copy of the book while supplies last, and anyone hoping to attend needs to follow @FireballWhisky and @TheRippedBodice on Instagram to unlock an invitation and RSVP.

"No one understands the appeal of a sweet, slow burn quite like Fireball," said Danny Suich, Senior Global Brand Director of Fireball. "Torch'd Vanilla, coupled with the rise of romantasy fueled by BookTok, gave us the perfect excuse to have some fun with two very different kinds of spice. Enter the Fireball Vanilla Smut Stash. Because the only thing better than a little literary fire is a whisky that packs the same heat."

Cipriano, already an established Broadway star with his own music career, has spoken about the partnership in interviews. "It felt like the perfect collab. I love Fireball so much, and it's really cool how this weaves its way into the BookTok world," he said. He has also admitted he had never read romantasy before, adding, "I'm excited to start reading more of these stories."