Side by side : Three Unusual Bourbons

Heading across the Atlantic for this side by side, three Bourbons, each with a strange twist!

One of these featured in the TBWC 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar and the others are from a drample swap from @whiskeychap - lets' see how they compare:

As explain here Bourbon is a whiskey distilled from a mash bill with a minimum 51% Corn matured in new charred American white oak. There's no legal requirement for minimum ageing, but the age must be stated on the bottle if aged for less than 4 years. Straight whiskies are aged a minimum of 2 years. 

After maturing, bourbon is diluted and bottled at no less than 80 US proof (40% ABV). Some higher-proof bottlings are marketed as "barrel proof", meaning they have not been diluted or have been only lightly diluted after removal from the barrels. Tennessee whiskey is a subcategory of bourbon that has been filtered through sugar maple charcoal.

Bottled-in-bond or bonded can be added to the bottles label if the whiskey is the product of one distillation season (January–June or July–December) by one distiller at one distillery. It must have been aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least 4 years and bottled at 100 U.S. proof (50% ABV). The bottled product's label must identify the distillery where it was distilled and, if different, where it was bottled.

Each of the three bourbons tried here have a little twist, but first let's have a look at the distilleries:

Angel's Envy brand was founded in 2006 by legendary Master Blender Lincoln Henderson and his son Wesley. Lincoln was recently retired from Brown-Forman where he was the creator of many brands, including Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack. The bourbon was sourced, probably from MGP and finished in Port Wine casks from Portugal. In 2010 the brand was sold to Bacardi. In 2013 they built a distillery in Louisville, Kentucky to produce their own bourbon which they now finish in Port, Rum and Oloroso sherry casks.

Shank's Homestead is a brand of bourbon distilled by Michter's in Louisville, Kentucky. It honours the legacy of historic American whiskey figure John Shenk, who in 1753 build a distillery which shared his name. In the 1800s it was renamed Bomberger’s Distillery and in the mid-20th Century Michter's. It's made using the traditional Sour Mash process whereby a portion of the previously distilled whiskey mash (referred to as "setback") is added into the next batch.

Balcones distillery is in Waco, Texas, it was founded in 2008 with distilling starting in 2009. They have a reputation for trying different things with their whiskey including mashing with locally grown barley, imported Scottish peated barley, red winter wheat and blue corn from New Mexico or 100% Rye; using Pot Stills rather than the American tradition of column stills; and finishing in interesting casks such as Port, French Oak, Oloroso, PX and Tequila!

  

Dram	Angel's Envy Port Cask Finish	Shenk's Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey	Balcones Tequila Cask Aged [TBWC] Batch 2
Characteristics	43.3% ABV Mash bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye and 10% Malted Barley	45.6% ABV	51.2% ABV, 3yo
Bottling notes	We finish our bourbon in ruby port wine casks, which adds subtly distinct flavor nuances that enhance the whiskey without challenging it. Our port finishing process lasts between three to six months, depending on taste. We use 60-gallon ruby port barrels made from French oak and imported directly from Portugal. This creates a whiskey of unprecedented smoothness, sweetness and balance. Nose: You’ll detect notes of subtle vanilla, raisins, maple syrup and toasted nuts Palate: Vanilla, ripe fruit, maple syrup, toast and bitter chocolate Finish: Clean and lingering sweetness with a hint of Madeira that slowly fades	Shenk’s Homestead Distillery Sour Mash Whiskey honors the legacy of historic American whiskey figure John Shenk, who in 1753 founded a distillery that was to become known as Michter’s in the 20th Century. It is made in Kentucky according to the traditional Sour Mash process whereby a portion of the previously distilled whiskey mash (referred to as “setback”) is added into the next batch. This full-bodied small batch whiskey is 91.2 proof. Shenk's is a Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey made with a good deal of rye. Unlike the 2018 Shenk's release, where some French Oak was utilized during maturation, the 2019 was matured entirely in American oak barrels, some of them being the special species of oak called Chinquapin (Quercus muehlenbergii) Nose :Reminiscent of crème brûlée accentuated by notes of burnt orange peel. Palate: Luscious upfront with remarkable mouth feel. At mid-palate one picks up burnt sugar and oak followed by cherry. Finish: Long finish with lingering notes of spice.	This right here is batch two of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s Balcones single malt whisky, aged for three years before bottling! After it was distilled at Balcones in Texas, it was Tequila-cask-matured, so it’s full of all those lovely green vegetal notes. It looks like the Hell ‘n’ Back tour is still going, only this time The Brimstone Cowboys have a new spectator! He’s tending his agave plant while enjoying the fiery music, as you do. Nose: Perfectly balanced sweet and savoury notes, with vegetal and somewhat funky agave in the foreground, loads of smoked, dried herbs and a pinch of salt, with fresh berries and caramel in support. Taste: Almost oily mouthfeel, much more savoury than the nose may suggest with freshly cut grass and heaps of vegetal agave, with a burst of sharp lemon juice and a subtle suggestion of dried sour cherries. Finish: Heavy pepper spice on the finish, followed by more grassy notes fading into sweeter tones of tinned pineapple, with a lingering smokiness.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line and fall as slow thick legs.	Light brown, swirls cling as a thick line and fall as slow thick legs.	Dark rich brown, swirls cling as a thick line and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Thick stewed fruit notes, a little vanilla and a hint of orange peel. A little time and air offers honey, nuts and cherries.	Toffee, vanilla, a little honey and again orange peel. A little time in the glass and raisin and date notes are revealed.	Very weird - BBQed herbs, almonds and chocolate raisins. A little time and air offers more of the herbal notes - maybe some damp grass and a hint of citrus.
Palate	Thin arrival, sweet and sour at the same time. Vanilla and dark chocolate vying with dried fruit and black cherry notes - very drying. There's a peppery spice with a little citrus.	Chewy! Oaky vanilla, milk chocolate and brown sugar. The orange peel notes from the nose are here along with the dried fruit. A peppery spice rounds everything off. Nice!	Another thick chewy dram, berry jam, vanilla, honey and brown sugar before a huge herbal note covers everything - strange! A little sour citrus as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Short dried fruit and vanilla notes with a peppery spice.	Long drying vanilla and chocolate notes with a little citrus.	Long sweet jammy notes quickly taken over by herbs and peppery spice - strange.
Overall	A like a standard bourbon, and am partial to a good rye, but these three are a little different. The Sour Mash comes out as closer to a 'normal' bourbon and was my favourite of the three. The Angel's Envy was a little thin, the Port cask finish didn't really add that much to the bourbon - a little fruit and drying note - maybe it needed a longer finish? The Sour Mash was really chewy, surprisingly so, sweet and spicy with a little citrus zing. The Balcones was just weird, bourbon notes on the nose and palate to start with then the herbal notes jumped in - a little like a peated dram when the smoke takes over. I must admit to having never tried Tequila, and based on this whisky I probably don't want to. If you have and like it then give this ago - it's strange!

Many thanks to @whiskeychap and @DrinksByTheDram for the samples!