LOUISVILLE, KY. — SinFire Cinnamon Whiskey is marketed as a “sinful spirit.” Sazerac Inc. thinks it’s an idea that’s sinfully close to its own brand of cinnamon flavored alcohol, Fireball Whiskey.

Sazerac has sued Hood River Distillers, the maker of SinFire, in federal court in Louisville, asking a judge to declare that the Hood River company violated its trademark in trying to sell the booze in the U.S.

New Orleans-based Sazerac, which owns three distilleries in Kentucky, wants a judge to stop Hood River Distillers from using the name SinFire and its label, which includes a serpent-like “S” arising from a bed of fire. Sazerac says that label is too similar to its own label, which features a red fire-breathing demon with a serpent-like tongue spitting a ball of fire. Both labels feature a red, black and orange color scheme.

Hood River Distillers, which bills itself as the largest and oldest producer of spirits in the Pacific Northwest, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Amy Preske, a Frankfort, Ky.-based spokeswoman for Sazerac, said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

In letters exchanged in December, Sazerac attorney Lori Mayall of Palo Alto, Calif., told an attorney for Hood River Distillers the company’s trademark for SinFire is too close to Fireball’s look and name.

“Your client’s SinFire Cinnamon Whiskey conveys a highly similar commercial impression as Sazerac’s Fireball cinnamon whiskey,” Mayall wrote. “Sazerac is committed to protecting its FIRE component brands and the goodwill they have engendered.”

David Peterson, an attorney for Hood River Distillers, responded that the SinFire label “will not cause any likelihood of confusion” among customers.

“Also, there is a crowded field of FIRE marks for various alcoholic beverages,” Peterson wrote. “This further reinforces our client’s position that there is no conflict.”

Sazerac markets Fireball as a whiskey that “Tastes Like Heaven. Burns Like Hell” and offers a recipe for the drink “Fireball Cinn-sation,” a play on the words “sensation,” “cinnamon” and “sin.”