Scottish AI Company Offers Scotch Whisky to Boston Lawyers

One of the more heartwarming stories to come out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the sudden friendship between residents of the city of Boston and members of Scotland's "Tartan Army" of supporters.

Scotland, making its first World Cup appearance in nearly three decades, played two of its three group-stage games at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Tartan Army began arriving in Boston and nearby Providence, R.I. in early June, and quickly made their appearance known throughout the cities, with parades of bagpipes, putting traffic cones on statues, and, of course, patronizing the cities' bars.

The reception was so great that Glasgow and Boston even began the process to become sister cities.

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Boston bars ran out of beer

Following Scotland's 1-0 win over Haiti, bar owners in Boston began reporting record sales thanks to the thirsty and excited Scottish visitors. Several bars and breweries reported receiving "emergency beer deliveries" after Scottish fans quite literally drank their taps dry.

Now a Scottish AI startup is "apologizing" for the Tartan Army's drinking habits with an offer of 367 bottles of Scotch whisky for Boston-based lawyers, and is making commuters laugh with the purchase of a billboard advertisement.

Wordsmith AI, a legal AI startup based in Edinburgh, published a full-page ad in the June 24 edition of the Boston Globe as members of the Tartan Army departed Boston for Scotland's final game in Miami.

"Boston, thank you for the welcome," read the ad, noting that the city "hosted us well" and gave Scottish fans "a reception we won't forget in a hurry."

"We came with noise, optimism, and a fairly heroic thirst. Somewhere along the way we drank your bars dry. We are sorry about that, and we would like to make it up to you," said the ad.

As a token of appreciation and apology, Wordsmith AI pledged to send "367 bottles of Scotch to the lawyers of your city" as a form of "humanitarian aid."

That number was chosen to honor the year 367 A.D., the year the Scots and the Picts jointly invaded Roman Britain, said the ad.

"We thought we would mark the anniversary more peacefully this time," said the ad. "Thank you for having us, Boston."

"Your bars fought bravely"

Wordsmith AI also purchased a billboard advertisement featuring the words "Boston, your bars fought bravely" along with the Scottish flag.

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On Reddit's r/Boston community, a picture of the billboard garnered amused reactions from Reddit users. The original poster wrote she was "Wheeezing from laughter" at the sight.

"Seriously - let’s make this a yearly thing. An uncultural exchange if you will," wrote a Reddit user in reply.

Another joked that Americans should "send our strongest warriors to destroy their bars like they did to us. Send the Wisconsinites to restore our honor."

And another reflected on just how unprepared he was for the influx of Scottish World Cup fans.

"Before this all went down I was talking to a nice Scottish couple. They told me that Boston was going to love the Tartan Army. They told me that we would want them to stay. Honestly, I was sure they were exaggerating," said the user, adding "They weren’t."

Scotland failed to advance from the group stage of the World Cup following losses to Morocco and Brazil.