Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Review

Dragon Con Bourbon
Straight Bourbon Whiskey
2026 Limited Edition
Produced by Old Fourth Distillery
94 Proof
SRP: $39.99
Two-Person Review

Please enjoy our two-person Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Review by Ed and Dean!

Celebrating Dragon Con’s 40th Anniversary

Dragon Con is one of the largest multi-media popular culture conventions in the United States, focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. Held annually in downtown Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, it draws tens of thousands of attendees from around the world.

Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 is the second annual bourbon release created in collaboration with Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery. This limited-edition release celebrates the convention’s 40th anniversary. Each annual edition features a new collector’s label.

Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Details and Review

• Produced By: Old Fourth Distillery
• Name: Dragon Con Bourbon 2026
• Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Mash Bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley
• Age: 4–6 years
• Proof: 94
• ABV: 47%
• Bottle Size: 750 mL
• Suggested Retail Price: $39.99
• Availability: Limited to 3,700 bottles. Can be preordered at dragonconspirits.com
• Engraving: Available for an additional $15
• Release: Second annual Dragon Con Bourbon edition

Tasting Notes — Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Review

Let’s taste it:

Ed

🛏 Rested: 15 minutes in a Glencairn glass

👉🏻 Nose: Fairly sweet, with rye spices, primarily cloves, vanilla, light caramel, tart citrus, and a very faint hint of mint. The alcohol vapor is appropriate for its 94 proof.
👉🏻 Taste: Light to medium-bodied and less sweet than the nose, with caramel, rye spices, subtle black tea, and light spice. Hot cinnamon emerges after returning to the glass.
👉🏻 Finish: White pepper spice, followed by drier wood and mild char. Some of the sweetness lingers, with ginger emerging at the very end and remaining after the other flavors fade. The ginger produces a tingling sensation on the tongue.

Dean

🛏 Rested: 15 minutes in a Glencairn glass

👉🏻 Nose: Cherry cola, vanilla, faint orange peel, plum moving toward prunes, oak, and the faintest hint of mint.
👉🏻 Taste: Cherry cola, hot cinnamon, green apple, and honey.
👉🏻 Finish: Becomes drier as it progresses, with cinnamon spice lingering throughout and plum returning toward the end.

Comparing Our Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Tasting Notes

Dean and I found some common ground on the nose, particularly with vanilla and a very faint mint note. The mint was subtle enough that we both initially hesitated to mention it, but we ultimately agreed it was there. Beyond that shared impression, Dean’s nose leaned more toward fruit, with cherry cola, orange peel, plum, and prunes. I found a sweeter combination of light caramel and tart citrus, accompanied by rye spices dominated by cloves.

Our impressions separated further on the palate. Dean continued to find fruit through cherry cola, green apple, and honey, along with hot cinnamon. My palate leaned toward caramel, rye spices, and subtle black tea, without the fruit Dean experienced. Cinnamon became another point of comparison: Dean noticed it immediately, while the hot cinnamon note emerged for me only after returning to the glass.

The finish continued that contrast. I found white pepper spice followed by drier wood, mild char, and lingering sweetness. At the very end, I detected an unusual ginger note that remained after the other flavors faded and produced a tingling sensation on my tongue. Dean also noticed the bourbon becoming drier, but his finish retained cinnamon and brought back some of the plum from the nose.

Different People, Different Palates

This tasting of Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 was a good example of how differently two people can experience the same bourbon. Dean tends to identify fruit more readily, while tea, leather, and similar flavors occur less frequently for him. He found fruit on both the palate and finish, while I got more spice, caramel, black tea, wood, and ginger. Even where we identified the same general note, such as cinnamon, it sometimes appeared at a different point in the tasting.

An Easy-Drinking Limited-Edition Bourbon

Overall, we thought Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 was very good and easy to drink. It has enough versatility to work well neat and likely in a cocktail, and we considered it very reasonably priced for a limited festival bottle. The collector’s label is also a very nice piece of art and gives the release some additional appeal. Have you tried the Dragon Con Bourbon 2026? What did you think? Will you be going to the festival? Cheers!🥃

We hope you have enjoyed our two-person Dragon Con Bourbon 2026 Review by Ed and Dean!

Next, read these related articles (Shortbarrel is Atlanta-based and owns Old Fourth Distillery): Shortbarrel Four Grain Bourbon and Shortbarrel Sapsquatch Bourbon.

Note: This sample was graciously provided by The Brand for our review. We appreciate it! Bottles can be preordered on the Dragon Con Spirits fansite, with optional engraving. It looks like they have a festival vodka and mead, as well.

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!