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The Smart Vodka Bottle Turning Nights Into Stories Inside Amoon Vodka’s Tech-Driven Pour [interview with Co-founders Mark McLaurine and Christopher Tooley]

The smart vodka bottle from Amoon Vodka blends LED tech, AI shows, and creamy flavor built for modern cocktail culture.

Every great night has a turning point. The song changes. The room warms. Someone orders something that makes people look up.

The smart vodka bottle from Amoon Vodka is built for that moment. It lights up, spins, syncs with other bottles, and tells a story through an app. But the founders are clear. None of that matters if the vodka does not deliver.

Co-founders Mark McLaurine and Christopher Tooley are not selling spectacle alone. They are betting that modern cocktail culture wants both theater and taste. Something playful, a little bold, and still serious in the glass.

The risk is obvious. If the liquid fails, the lights mean nothing. That tension is exactly what makes this bottle worth talking about.

When a Bottle Steals the Room and Then Earns the Second Sip

Walk into a crowded lounge in New York, Chicago, Miami, or Las Vegas and the scene blurs fast. Too many labels. Too many phones. Too much noise.

Amoon was designed to interrupt that autopilot moment.

Tooley explains it directly:

“WHEN YOU SEE OUR PRODUCT, YOU’RE GOING TO SEE THE LIGHTS AND THE SHOW AND A LOT OF THINGS THAT GRAB YOUR ATTENTION,”

“BUT AT THE VERY CORE AND ESSENCE OF THE PRODUCT…

EVERY SINGLE PART WAS INTENTIONAL.”

The bottle uses LED lighting and a spinning vortex effect to pull focus. And yes, it works. People stop scrolling. They lean in. It is oddly relatable and slightly funny that a bottle is what reminds us to look up.

But here is the real test. Beneath the tech is a vodka meant to be tasted, not just filmed.

The base, according to the founders, is “a 75% potato, 25% corn vodka,” with “a hint of sweet potatoes in there as well.” The goal is complexity and texture. Not fireworks, but depth. That matters to anyone who actually drinks the cocktail after the photo.

The Smart Vodka Bottle Idea Comes From Frustration

The founders keep returning to one belief. Spirits evolved. Packaging did not.

“THE SPIRITS INDUSTRY HAS BEEN PRETTY ARCHAIC,” Tooley said.

So they treated Amoon like a technology product, not just a beverage. The bottle is designed to be reused, updated, and personalized through software.

McLaurine puts it bluntly:

“WE SAY WE’RE A TECH COMPANY THAT JUST HAPPENS TO DO VODKA”

That mindset shows up in the app. Users choose a mood or occasion and the system generates a lighting sequence and a written story to match. The story is literal, not metaphorical.

One example reads:

“It says this show beautifully captures the warm welcoming accents of the distillery, showing the intricate process of whiskey making reflected through the interplay of amber and earthly tones. It’s a captivating charm nestled in the heart of the city.”

Is it a little over the top? Sure. But nightlife has always loved a bit of extra. Fun-loving does not have to mean careless.

Six Years of No Before a Yes

This is where the pitch either collapses or earns respect.

McLaurine says the vortex technology did not exist at the scale they needed. He searched everywhere. Germany. Canada. China. Japan. The answer was always no.

They built it themselves.

“We worked for six years, and it was very difficult, but we got patents from the US Patents Office.”

The challenge was shrinking museum-scale vortex and LED effects into something “that can fit in the palm of your hand.” That is engineering, not branding.

You can stress test the story. The time frame checks out. The patents exist. This was not slapped together for a launch party.

What It Tastes Like When the Lights Are Off

Here is the ruthless moment. Strip away the LEDs. Kill the app. Pour the vodka.

Tooley describes the profile as having “less of that burn on the back end,” with “a creamy, nutty type of texture.” Some tasters catch “the hint of the sweet potatoes… and a little bit of pumpkin.” McLaurine adds “the sweetness, maybe a hint of butterscotch.”

That combination matters. Creamy, slightly sweet, and balanced vodka works in real cocktails. Martinis feel precise, not punishing. Vodka sodas actually taste like something. The flavor is there without bullying the drink.

They love hearing one specific reaction. “I don’t even like vodka, but I don’t hate that. I love it.” Every city has that person. It is painfully relatable.

This is where the smart vodka bottle proves it is not just a prop.

Tech With a Nod to Responsibility

The founders talk openly about responsible drinking. The long-term vision includes app features that nudge users toward safer choices.

Tooley imagines a future prompt that says, “hey, you’ve drunken too much. You might want to call an Uber here.”

There is humor in their ambition too. McLaurine joked, “we pay our debts like the Lannisters.” Make of that what you will.


Mini FAQ: Amoon Vodka

Q: What is a smart vodka bottle?
A: A smart vodka bottle connects to an app to control lighting effects, bottle synchronization, and interactive experiences beyond pouring a drink.

Q: What is Amoon Vodka made from?
A: The founders describe it as “a 75% potato, 25% corn vodka” with “a hint of sweet potatoes in there as well.”

Q: What can the app do right now?
A: It controls lighting, speed, pulsing effects, links multiple bottles, and generates custom shows and stories through their AI system.


The Next Ritual of Premium Drinking

Amoon Vodka is betting that the future of nightlife blends flavor, technology, and personalization. The smart vodka bottle is the hook. The vodka itself is the proof.

If they keep the liquid honest and the tech purposeful, this is more than a novelty. It is a new ritual for modern cocktail culture.

Try it when the lights are bright. Then try it when the room goes quiet. That second sip is where the story either survives or disappears.

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