I joined the Big Machine team January of 2020, just few months before the COVID pandemic arrived in the United States. It was then a startup vodka product with an active distillery rebrand from the previously acquired Tenn South Distillery and it's products. We would begin re-working Big Machine Vodka into a scaleable & sustainable product in a growing market. Our team accomplished this while enduring the pandemic with an essential purpose; to make medically approved hand sanitizer products for people in need. We used all the available resources to us to send our message to the public. The Big Machine Family includes many entertainment channels, some of those include NASCAR, IndyCar, & Bridgestone sponsorships. I have been fortunate to be able to design for all this and more.
Client
Big Machine Distillery
Big Machine Distillery
My Role
Brand Development, Design, Art Direction
Year
2020 - Present
I worked closely with the VP of Operations to assess and develop a more aesthetic and scaleable Big Machine Vodka (BMV) product. We started with a new glass and screw top closure, instead of corking. Keeping the same brand elements and tactile embellishments, we made technical adjustments to the label's production to be more cost efficient while retaining our quality product experience. The Platinum Quality Standard seal was designed and added as a seal of our efforts to making the best vodka product in the market. We are now in over xx U.S. states.
When the BMV Product relaunch proved sustainable, we adapted to applying the same production methods to a new tasting room Small Batch line that we could build upon. Our goal was to create a flexible in-house product line to test and perfect new spirits and ready-made cocktails. If a product were to stand out in this line, we could then harvest it into uniquely branded asset for larger distribution. BMD Small Batch is currently undergoing updates to design and bottle type.
In January of 2020 I came on board to a vodka company, but within a couple months we had to pivot to making and distributing Big Machine Hand Sanitizer all over the country to help meet the need during the pandemic. We did this while launching a new kitchen and developing our spirits and ready-to-drink packaged cocktails.
Big Machine Hand Sanitizer first launched as donations to first responders and pickup orders for food and drink. Then we sold 50mL bottles up to 270gal totes to entities of all types fulfilling orders across the country. We even sponsored various race car drivers and motor sport events. Our success during this time led us to developing our now nationally marketed product, Big Machine Spiked Coolers, which led to the opportunity to design Borchetta Bourbon, and building our creative team.
