Liquid Death Renames Drink to Mock Lawsuit From Golf Legend’s Estate

Liquid Death has renamed one of its drink under threat of a lawsuit, but it hasn’t toned down the language. The company exploded onto the scene in 2019 with water and sparkling water in cans rather than bottles, and has since branched out into other soft drinks including iced tea. The estate of golf legend Arnold Palmer tried to sue the company for its “Armless Palmer” drink, so the company cheekily renamed it the “Dead Billionaire.”

Arnold Palmer has become the de facto name for a drink that is half iced tea, half lemonade. It’s named after pro golf player Arnold Palmer who is sometimes created with inventing the drink himself. The Arizona Beverage Company sells a canned version of this drink with a picture of Palmer on the label, while other companies do not have permission to use Palmer’s name or likeness. Liquid Death thought that changing the name to “Armless Palmer” would suffice, but the company explained in an Instagram post on Saturday that someone tried to sue them over it.

The company’s post promised that the “Dead Billionaire” drink is “the EXACT same thing, only now it has a way cooler name that won’t require us to fight a senseless legal battle with a large enterprise who sent us a letter saying we can’t use the word ‘Palmer’ and who are also partnered with a giant iced tea corporation. Both of whom have far more $$$ to burn on legal fees than we do.”

Liquid Death says that “Dead Billionaire” cans are selling now online but probably won’t hit retail shelves until the spring. That means the remaining stock of “Armless Palmer” will be sold off first, and the company joked: “Experts are predicting potential brawls in retailers as customers fight over remaining Armless Palmer cans before they become extinct forever and reselling as collectors items for billions of dollars.”

According to a report by Forbes, Palmer likely never had a billion dollars to his name in life, though he was extremely wealthy. As for Liquid Death, they market all their drinks with extreme and hyperbolic language – not just the ones that nearly lead to lawsuits. The company packages water and sparkling water in 16.9-fluid-ounce cans to resemble the beer industry’s “tallboys.” Since the graphics resemble the kind of art featured on many beer cans, they can help a designated driver or teetotaler blend in and give them a prop to hold onto. At the same time, the aluminum cans are more recyclable and sustainable than plastic water bottles.

Liquid Death drinks are available in most major grocery stores and online. At the time of this writing, “Armless Palmer” is still being sold, but it will soon be replaced by “Dead Billionaire.”