Fort Thomas Bourbon Brand Animates Civil War General With AI to Personalize Bottles

Scan the QR code on a bottle of General Thomas Bourbon and a 160-year-old portrait of Civil War General George H. Thomas comes to life, his mouth moving, his voice a deep bellowing presence recounting the history of Fort Thomas, the story behind his nickname "the Rock of Chickamauga," or the origins of the bourbon itself. Record a personal message, and that message is married to that specific bottle's webpage permanently.

The concept, described by its creators as "the first bourbon that talks back," was built around a patent-pending customization feature that ensures no two bottles carry the same digital experience. Gorman, the brand's driving force, purchased twenty barrels from a distiller who had surplus inventory following COVID-era production miscalculations, an industry problem rooted in the standard practice of projecting market demand four years in advance. He designed the labels, sourced the bottles, and arranged for 10,000 unique QR codes, each linking to its own dedicated webpage. The bourbon itself is a 5-year-aged Kentucky straight bottled at 99 proof under the "Very Small Batch" designation.

"It creates a very interesting, immersive, fun, customizable experience for every single bottle, where, if you're keeping the bottle at home, you can put an interesting message on that bottle, whether it be a funny joke or the story of your home bar," Gorman said. "You can let your guests listen to it. If you are giving it as a gift, that's where it really shines, because you can customize it personally for the person you're giving it to."

The gifting logic here is genuinely compelling. A bourbon bottle already reads as a considered present. Add the ability to have a 19th-century general speak your words in a deep, synthesized voice to the recipient, and the gesture becomes something closer to a keepsake. The personalized message doesn't disappear after the bottle is opened; it lives on that bottle's webpage indefinitely.

To build the technology, Gorman tapped Luke Weidner, a 24-year-old Highlands High School graduate from Fort Thomas who works at startup Vertice AI. Weidner animated the historical portrait, engineered the voice synthesis, and integrated the per-bottle webpage system. "I had just been consumed with learning as much about AI as I can and having a lot of fun involving it in different projects that I'm involved in," Weidner said. "And I thought it would be really fun if it would be the first bourbon that I know of that involves AI in some fashion."

The local sourcing is deliberate and complete: the labels are made in Kentucky, the bourbon is made in Kentucky, and the AI was built by a Fort Thomas native. The production run from last summer yielded nearly 5,000 bottles currently in hand, with infrastructure in place for up to 10,000 unique digital experiences across the full batch.

Early adopters on LinkedIn have singled out the gifting application specifically. "The ability to add a personalized message to each bottle is a LOT of fun and has made General Thomas my gift giving 'gift of choice' over the last year," wrote one commenter, describing the 99 proof spirit as "about as smooth as you can get." Another noted receiving a text notification each time a friend poured a glass, a social feature that extends the experience well past the moment of gifting.

Pricing and retail distribution details were not available at the time of publication. For a gift that functions as both a premium Kentucky bourbon and a permanent, voice-activated personal message from a Civil War general, the concept alone positions General Thomas Bourbon in a category with very few competitors.