30 Days of Bourbon Challenge 2026: Everything You Need to Know
This isn't a checklist you rush through to say you finished. It's a month of trying bottles you've been putting off, revisiting ones you forgot you loved, and landing on a few new favorites along the way. Here's everything you need to know before September 1st hits.
Bourbon Heritage Month is almost here, which means it's time to dust off the calendar and get serious about your September. This is year thirteen of the 30 Days of Bourbon Challenge, and the deal hasn't changed: drink 30 different bourbons in 30 days. Simple on paper. A genuine adventure once you're actually in it.
This isn't a checklist you rush through to say you finished. It's a month of trying bottles you've been putting off, revisiting ones you forgot you loved, and landing on a few new favorites along the way. Here's everything you need to know before September 1st hits.
OFFICIAL RULES: 30 Days of Bourbon Challenge
Bourbon only. That means no Scotch, no rye, no Irish, no Japanese, and no "bourbon-inspired" blend from anywhere pretending otherwise. Flavored stuff doesn't count either. If it doesn't meet the TTB's legal definition of bourbon (before finishing), it's not part of this Challenge. Sorry, Fireball.
Keep it real. It's 30 days of bourbon, not 30 days of whatever's close enough.
The question we get every year: is Tennessee Whiskey allowed? Yes. Jack Daniel's and George Dickel are in. Before the Lincoln County Process, that liquid is bourbon. That one extra filtering step doesn't change what it started as, so it counts.
Here’s how to make every pour count:
- Proof Matters: Wild Turkey 81 and 101 count as one expression. But if a brand makes both a Bottled-in-Bond version and a standard release, those are separate entries.
- Mash-Up Mastery: Four Roses runs ten distinct recipes, and each one stands on its own. Their Small Batch, Select, and limited blends are all fair game individually.
- Finished = Fair Game: Bourbons finished in other barrels, like Angel's Envy, count as long as they started life as bourbon.
- Sourced But Legit: Sourced bourbon is fine. It just has to actually be bourbon and follow the rest of the rules.
- Single Barrel Clarification: Different barrels of the same expression are still one entry. Don't try to run every letter of the Blanton's alphabet through as separate bottles.
- Cocktails Are Cool: Mixing is welcome. Just make sure each cocktail features a bourbon you haven't already logged.
That's it. Pour up and let's go.
30 DAYS OF BOURBON DRINKING CALENDAR
Download and print our 2026 Drinking Calendar to track your 30 days as you go.
30 DAYS OF BOURBON LOGO OVERLAYS
Grab this year's BHM26 logo overlays and show off your progress in style. Each one's a high-quality PNG built to sit on top of your photos. iPhone users, the Canva app makes layering the logo onto your pics painless.
Here’s to documenting your bourbon journey one sip at a time! 🥃
Download/Usage Instructions: Click on one of the links above to download the overlay graphics. The image will open in a new browser tab/window. Then right-click on the image in the new tab/window and save the image to your computer or phone. Please note that the images are shown in black on a white background for illustration purposes only. When downloaded, they will be in white with a transparent background, allowing you to overlay them on a photo.
SHARE YOUR 30 DAYS OF BOURBON ADVENTURE
Bourbon's better out loud. Snap a pic of your calendar, post it on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter), and tag @BourbonBanter. Don’t forget the hashtags: #30DaysofBourbon, #BourbonHeritageMonth, and #DrinkCurious.
Cheers to bourbon, and to actually drinking it instead of just collecting it.