Toasted almond | Honey | Stewed apple | Apricot | Clove | Brown sugar

Brown sugar | Candied orange | Honey | Caramel | Apricot | Rich & full-bodied

Honey | Caramel | Brûléed sugar | Hint of dark chocolate | Lingering sweetness

The Dragon’s Milk Origin X Dungeons & Dragons mashup returns for its third annual release, this one named the Blue Dragon Edition. Consistent with the 2024 inaugural release and 2025 Black Dragon release, this year’s version was also finished in mead casks, is bottled at 100 proof, and comes packaged in a box along with a dragon-inspired pourer. This is an on-site and online-only release (October 16 and 23, respectively). The Blue Dragon Edition launches alongside a double bourbon barrel-aged stout, the Brass Dragon, as New Holland says, “Dragon’s Milk d20 Brew Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout channels the character of the Brass Dragon, while Origin Mead Cask Bourbon Whiskey draws inspiration from the fearsome Blue Dragon.”

‍Like the past two editions, this Dungeons & Dragons bottling starts with the distillery’s Origin Bourbon and finishes in mead casks. Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey, water, and yeast, unlike beer, which uses grains and hops. It's considered its own category of alcohol, distinct from beer, and is one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages. Because of this, you often see it in medieval and fantasy-based entertainment, which is why pairing it with a Dungeons & Dragons collaboration makes perfect sense. Mead is typically aged, and its alcohol content is often much higher than a typical beer, making it more like wine or a high-ABV dark beer.

Those familiar with Dragon’s Milk Origin bourbon know the base flavor profile is unlike other bourbons they may be used to, often featuring bright apricot, citrus, and sugary-sweet notes. Blue Dragon Edition has all of that, but it dials in a rich honey note throughout the sip, almost certainly from the mead cask finishing. Other flavor notes weave in and out, circling quintessential Origin Bourbon and mead flavors and tying them together almost perfectly. Some might question whether the whiskey tastes too mead-influenced, and the answer is unequivocally no. Everything ties together extremely well, resulting in a finished bourbon that still tastes like bourbon, but delivered in Dragon’s Milk’s unique style. Dragon’s Milk Origin X Dungeons & Dragons: Blue Dragon Edition is my favorite D&D collaboration release to date, but just by a small margin, as New Holland has maintained fairly consistent quality from year to year.