Wanting a truck designed to look like its Star Hill Farm distillery in Loretto Kentucky, Maker’s Mark engaged Turtle Transit to fabricate the marketing and sampling vehicle. Their marketing goal was the engage audiences at horse races, and Turtle’s truck could be seen at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and other racecourses.

With an exterior built of wood and corrugated aluminum paneling, the side of the truck opens up as an entrance and display area.

Inside the vehicle, Turtle designed and built a copper kettle as well as a trompe l’eoil relief of whiskey barrels, which in reality only stood out about 8“ in relief; Turtle developed the graphics to add dimension and depth. To create light on the inside, there were faux skylights and faux windows built of Lexan with images and backlit panels.

The truck is large enough to include an area for audiences to play games on a virtual reality console, as well as a large monitor featuring marketing videos.