Atlanta's Two Worlds Collide: Dragon Con and Old Fourth Distillery Launch an Annual Bourbon Series
There are partnerships that make obvious sense from the jump — a brewery sponsoring a beer festival, a tequila brand backing a Cinco de Mayo block party. And then there are the collaborations that, once announced, feel so inevitable you wonder why nobody thought of them sooner. The union between Dragon Con and Old Fourth Distillery falls squarely in that second category. Two Atlanta institutions, one rooted in the soil of Southern craft spirits and the other built on the wildest weekend in the Southeast, have officially launched what promises to become one of the more compelling annual limited-edition bourbon releases in the country.
Two of Atlanta's most iconic institutions — Old Fourth Distillery and Dragon Con — have officially joined forces in a first-of-its-kind partnership that celebrates their shared hometown pride, creativity, and craftsmanship. The result is Dragon Con Bourbon, a straight bourbon whiskey that carries all the weight of that pairing: locally aged, hand-numbered, small-batch, and unapologetically tied to a convention that has spent nearly four decades turning downtown Atlanta into the largest pop culture gathering in the country.
The 2026 Release: Forty Years in the Making
The timing of the 2026 edition couldn't be more loaded with significance. In 2026, Dragon Con celebrates 40 years of making Labor Day Atlanta's favorite holiday, with next year's convention set for the five-day Labor Day weekend, September 3 through September 7. Four decades of cosplayers, panels, parades, and fandom converging on downtown Atlanta's hotel district is no small thing — and the 2026 Dragon Con Bourbon is designed to honor exactly that milestone.
This annual collaboration between Old Fourth Distillery and the co-founders of Dragon Con continues with a special 2026 edition celebrating four decades of fandom, creativity, and community. For bourbon collectors, that context matters. The inaugural batch already carried novelty value by virtue of being the first in the series. The 2026 release carries something arguably more powerful: the weight of a genuine anniversary, the kind that turns a nice limited release into a genuine keepsake.
The 2026 beverage collection features three limited-edition releases crafted for fans, collectors, and connoisseurs alike — evidence that the collaboration has grown beyond a single expression into a full lineup. Where the first release was an introduction, the 2026 drop is a statement.
What's in the Bottle: The Whiskey Itself
Image credit: Dragon Con
Mash Bill, Proof, and Age
Collectors are often so focused on labels, numbers, and narrative that the actual liquid gets treated as secondary. That's not a criticism of the category — it's human nature. But the Dragon Con Bourbon deserves its moment on the palate before it gets shelved behind glass. It is an Atlanta-aged, sourced MGP bourbon with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, aged for 4 to 6 years and bottled at 100 proof.
That mash bill is worth unpacking. Sourcing from MGP — the Lawrenceburg, Indiana distillery responsible for producing whiskey that ends up in dozens of respected American brands — is a common and entirely legitimate practice in the craft spirits world. What distinguishes the Dragon Con Bourbon from off-the-shelf MGP pours is what Old Fourth does after the barrels arrive in Atlanta: further aging in the Georgia climate, where hot summers and mild winters create a dramatically accelerated wood interaction compared to Kentucky or Indiana warehousing. The 21% rye content pushes the grain character toward the spicier end of the spectrum without crossing into the full rye-forward territory that can polarize casual bourbon drinkers.
Bottling at 100 proof — exactly 50% ABV — is a deliberate move that signals seriousness. It's the threshold of the old Bottled-in-Bond standard, a mark that bourbon drinkers have long associated with integrity and full flavor. At that proof, the whiskey has presence without demanding a drop of water before it shows itself. The bourbon is aged 4 to 6 years in Atlanta, a range that provides flexibility in blending — Clinton Dugan, Old Fourth's co-owner and master blender, can pull from barrels at different points within that window to target a specific flavor profile for each annual release.
Tasting Notes
The flavor profile is described as having notes of citrus, orange, white pepper, and cinnamon on the nose, with tart cherries, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a subtle herbal depth on the palate, finishing with a refreshing minty flavor. That's a tasting note worth spending some time with. The citrus and pepper on the nose speak directly to the higher-rye mash bill — classic characteristics of that grain at work — while the dark chocolate and tart cherries on the palate suggest the Georgia aging has done meaningful work on the wood extraction, pulling tannins and oxidative notes that soften the grain bite and add depth. The mint on the finish is distinctive; it's a hallmark of the specific MGP distillate that Old Fourth is working with, and it adds a clean, almost refreshing quality that keeps the finish from turning hot or bitter.
For drinkers who come to a release like this purely for the bottle and the story, the tasting profile delivers something better than it has to: a genuinely enjoyable, well-balanced 100-proof straight bourbon that stands up to scrutiny glass-by-glass.
Old Fourth Distillery: Atlanta's First Post-Prohibition Pour
A Distillery That Started a Movement
To understand why this partnership carries the weight it does, you have to understand what Old Fourth Distillery means to Atlanta's spirits landscape. Founded in 2014, Old Fourth Distillery helped reintroduce legal distilling to Atlanta as the city's first distillery since Prohibition. Built on a foundation of craftsmanship, innovation, and Southern hospitality, the brand quickly became known for creating approachable, high-quality spirits that reflected the energy and culture of Atlanta itself.
That's not marketing language — it's a genuine piece of Georgia spirits history. Atlanta had been dry, in the distillery sense, for the better part of a century before Old Fourth turned the lights back on in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The craft spirits movement was already building steam nationally by 2014, but choosing to plant the flag in Atlanta — a city with deep food and beverage culture but no modern distilling tradition — took real conviction. The brand bet on Atlanta's identity, and Atlanta's identity delivered.
The Shortbarrel Acquisition and What It Means
In 2023, O4D was acquired by Shortbarrel, marking the beginning of a new chapter for one of Atlanta's most recognizable spirits brands. Over the last three years, the brand has undergone a full evolution — expanding production capabilities, refining its visual identity, and repositioning itself for growth while staying deeply connected to its Atlanta roots.
Acquisitions of beloved craft distilleries tend to generate anxiety among their core fans, and understandably so. The craft spirits movement was built on smallness, locality, and personality — qualities that can erode under corporate ownership. But the evidence coming out of Old Fourth post-acquisition suggests a different trajectory. While produced under the historic Old Fourth Distillery name, the bourbon is made possible by Shortbarrel Bourbon, the proud owner of Old Fourth and a rising force in the world of premium craft whiskey. Based in Georgia and deeply committed to quality, Shortbarrel acquired Old Fourth Distillery to preserve its Atlanta legacy while expanding its reach and innovation. Together, the two brands continue to champion small-batch excellence, focusing on storytelling, community, and craftsmanship.
The Dragon Con partnership itself is evidence of the new direction. A collaboration of this scale — one that requires annual production planning, custom label development, coordinated retail rollouts, and convention-based distribution — demands the kind of operational backbone that a craft startup can't always provide. Shortbarrel's backing gives Old Fourth the infrastructure to execute this kind of long-term, multi-release program without compromising the quality of the liquid.
Old Fourth's growing reputation for serious whiskey is further supported by releases outside the Dragon Con line. The Old Fourth Distillery is making waves following its acquisition by Shortbarrel, with their release of two highly anticipated 10-year bourbons. Those releases, particularly the Bottled-in-Bond expression, have attracted genuine attention from the bourbon community — not as novelties, but as legitimate contenders at competitive prices.
Dragon Con at Forty: How a Garage Project Became a Cultural Institution
From 1,400 to 80,000
Dragon Con was founded in 1987 and takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. What began as a project of a local science fiction and gaming group has grown into something that defies easy categorization. Dragon Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the country, running from September 3 through September 7, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The 1987 inaugural Dragon Con took place at the Pierremont Plaza Hotel and drew 1,400 fans. The growth from those early days to the present is staggering even by the standards of the convention world. At the convention's 20th anniversary in 2007, there were 22,000 attendees, and the convention continued to grow, drawing 40,000 in 2010, 57,000 in 2013, and over 80,000 in 2017. The 2025 edition drew 75,000 attendees for the five-day celebration and raised more than $320,000 for its official charity, mental health advocate NAMI Georgia.
Dragon Con features hundreds of guests, encompasses five hotels in the Peachtree Center neighborhood of downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, and runs thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture. For anyone who has navigated the skybridge connections between the Marriott Marquis, the Hyatt Regency, and the Hilton on a Saturday night of Labor Day weekend, the scale of it hits differently than any attendance figure can convey. The hallways become rivers of costumed humanity, the bars stay packed until dawn, and downtown Atlanta takes on an energy that is wholly unlike anything else on the American convention calendar.
The 2026 Milestone
Dragon Con, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, runs from Thursday, September 3 to Monday, September 7, 2026 in downtown Atlanta. The convention attracts more than 75,000 pop culture fans from all 50 states and several foreign countries who come to Dragon Con to meet their favorite actors, creators, and experts, show off their latest cosplay, make new friends, and revel in the joy that is Dragon Con.
Celebrating its 40th year, this iconic Labor Day weekend event promises an unforgettable experience across five host hotels — Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, and Westin Peachtree Plaza — as well as AmericasMart Buildings 2 and 3. The 40th anniversary framing gives the 2026 Dragon Con Bourbon a natural narrative that annual releases rarely get handed to them. It's the kind of milestone that makes even casual observers take notice, and it makes the 2026 bottle a more compelling collector's proposition than the inaugural release, despite the inaugural having the "first" distinction on its side.
The Voice of the Partnership: What the Principals Are Saying
The people most directly responsible for making this collaboration work have been direct about their motivations, and the quotes reveal something more specific than generic co-branding enthusiasm. "We're beyond excited to partner with Old Fourth Distillery — an Atlanta original — to create a bourbon that reflects the bold, creative spirit of our city," said Rachel Reeves, Co-Chair and Senior Director of Guests and Media at Dragon Con. "This collaboration is rooted in our shared commitment to Atlanta, and to the communities that make both Dragon Con and Old Fourth so special. We see this as more than just a bottle — it's a new tradition. A yearly collectible that fans can sip, share, and celebrate for years to come."
On the distillery side, Clinton Dugan framed the partnership in terms of storytelling — the thing that both bourbon and fantasy fandom have always done best. "At Old Fourth, we've always believed great spirits should tell a story — and no one tells stories quite like the Dragon Con community," said Clinton Dugan, Co-Owner and Master Blender at Old Fourth Distillery. "We're both homegrown Atlanta institutions with passionate fanbases and deep creative roots. This partnership isn't just about bourbon; it's about celebrating the energy, imagination, and originality that make this city one of a kind."
That framing — storytelling as the connective tissue between a distillery and a pop culture convention — is more than a talking point. Bourbon as a category has always been built on narrative. The age statements, the small-batch designations, the single-barrel selections, the regional terroir arguments: all of it is storytelling layered over distillation science. Dragon Con has been building narrative universes for four decades. The overlap is genuine.
Scarcity, Collectibility, and the Annual Series Model
How the Numbers Stack Up
Batch One of Dragon Con Bourbon is a small-batch release of just 2,500 hand-numbered bottles, making it as rare and distinctive as the costumes and characters that fill Atlanta's streets every Labor Day weekend. In the world of limited bourbon releases, 2,500 bottles is genuinely scarce. By comparison, some of the most sought-after annual releases from larger Kentucky distilleries run into the tens of thousands of bottles — and they still sell out within hours. At 2,500 hand-numbered units targeting a convention that draws 75,000-plus attendees, plus a broader retail market in Georgia and beyond, the supply-and-demand math is unambiguous.
The hand-numbering is a detail worth noting. It's not just a marketing gesture — it creates a direct chain of provenance that matters to serious collectors. Bottle number 0001 and bottle number 2,500 carry the same liquid, but they carry different stories. The person who tracks down number 0001 has something categorically different from the person who buys a random mid-run bottle off a shelf. That's the kind of distinction that fuels secondary market interest, though the primary goal — and the right goal — is to put these bottles in the hands of people who will actually open and enjoy them.
The Annual Collector Model
Each year, Dragon Con Bourbon will feature a unique collector's label and release, building into a must-have lineup for fans, collectors, and whiskey lovers alike. This model has a proven track record in the bourbon world. The Pappy Van Winkle annual releases, Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection, the Four Roses Limited Small Batch — these programs have demonstrated that a consistent annual cadence, combined with scarcity and quality, creates compounding collector value over time. Each new release increases the value of the previous ones simply by extending the series.
This release marks the launch of an annual Dragon Con Bourbon series, with each year offering a new collectible label and a distinct flavor profile — meaning the 2026 bottle won't just be a new label on the same bottle. The flavor profile itself will shift, giving bourbon enthusiasts a reason to engage with each release on its own terms rather than simply completing a set. That's a sophisticated approach to annual series design, and it puts a real burden on Old Fourth's blending team to deliver meaningful variation without straying so far from the core character that repeat buyers feel like they're drinking a different whiskey entirely.
Atlanta's Craft Spirits Scene and the Broader Industry Context
The Dragon Con Bourbon doesn't exist in a vacuum — it's the most visible expression yet of Atlanta's emergence as a credible craft spirits market. Old Fourth led the charge when it opened in 2014, but the years since have seen the city's distilling scene expand significantly. Georgia's bourbon and whiskey producers have benefited from favorable legislation, a growing local consumer base, and a food and beverage culture that was already nationally recognized for innovation.
The convention-spirits collaboration model is also part of a broader industry trend worth tracking. Craft distilleries and cultural events have increasingly found common ground — both operate on passion, community, and identity rather than purely transactional relationships. A Dragon Con attendee who buys the official bourbon isn't just buying a bottle; they're buying membership in a moment, a physical object that carries the memory of a specific year's convention. That's an emotional proposition that no amount of shelf talkers and tasting room promotions can fully replicate.
The fact that this collaboration is explicitly designed as a multi-year, annually evolving series rather than a one-time promotional release signals genuine long-term thinking on both sides. Dragon Con has 40 years of institutional momentum behind it. Old Fourth, backed by Shortbarrel, has the production capacity and brand equity to sustain a premium release series. The runway here is long.
Pricing, Availability, and How to Get a Bottle
The Old Fourth Distillery Dragon Con Straight Bourbon is available from select Atlanta-area retailers starting at $39.99, with pricing at some outlets running slightly higher. At that price point — roughly $40 to $46 depending on the retailer — the Dragon Con Bourbon sits in a sweet spot that makes it accessible enough to actually drink while retaining enough perceived value to justify keeping a bottle sealed. That's the right price for what it is: a 100-proof, hand-numbered, limited-edition straight bourbon with a compelling backstory and genuine flavor quality.
Distribution is currently centered in metro Atlanta, which is both a practical limitation and a feature. The geographic exclusivity reinforces the regional identity of the product and gives Dragon Con attendees something they can't easily source from their home states. For out-of-town fans making the annual Labor Day pilgrimage to Atlanta — and there are tens of thousands of them, coming from all 50 states and several foreign countries — picking up a bottle becomes part of the Dragon Con experience itself.
What This Means for Bourbon Enthusiasts Who've Never Attended Dragon Con
It would be easy to dismiss the Dragon Con Bourbon as a novelty release aimed at convention-goers rather than serious whiskey drinkers. That would be a mistake. The liquid in this bottle — an Atlanta-aged, sourced MGP bourbon with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, aged 4 to 6 years and bottled at 100 proof — is built on a foundation that the bourbon community already respects. MGP's high-rye distillate has earned a genuine reputation for quality, and Old Fourth's Atlanta aging adds a regional dimension that differentiates it from the same base spirit finished elsewhere.
The annual series model, the hand-numbering, the 2,500-bottle scarcity, the 100-proof specification, and the commitment to varying the flavor profile each year are all features that serious collectors evaluate independently of any pop culture branding. Strip the Dragon Con label off the bottle, and what remains is a compelling small-batch, high-rye straight bourbon at a fair price. Put the label back on, and you add a layer of Atlanta cultural history, an annual series narrative, and a scarcity story that appreciates with each new release.
Crafted for both cosplay and connoisseurs, this bottle is a tribute to the spirit of creativity, fandom, and Southern bourbon heritage. That line, while promotional, lands true. The bourbon world and the convention world are both built on passionate communities that take their obsessions seriously, argue about minutiae with genuine expertise, and show up every year for the annual ritual. The Dragon Con Bourbon is the distilled version — literally — of what happens when those two worlds recognize themselves in each other.
Whatever bottle number you land on, crack it open on Labor Day weekend. That's what it was made for.
