Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Aberlour A'bunadh vs Starward Nova
One axis separates these two: sherried, 9 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Aberlour A'bunadh | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | World whisky |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Strength | Not published | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Oloroso sherry butt | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £70 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £10 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Aberlour A'bunadh from Speyside, Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
Aberlour A'bunadh is a single malt, Starward Nova a world whisky.
Neither carries an age statement, so neither discloses its youngest spirit.
Cask as each producer describes it: Aberlour A'bunadh in oloroso sherry butt, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
What the price buys
Aberlour A'bunadh is £15 dearer a bottle than Starward Nova.
Aberlour A'bunadh publishes no strength, so we will not cost it per litre of alcohol.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Aberlour A'bunadh | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 8 | 6 |
| Fruity | 7 | 8 |
| Spicy | 6 | 5 |
| Woody | 6 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 9 | 7 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is sweet, 8 against 6.
Identical on peaty and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Aberlour A'bunadh
Enormous sherried fruit at cask strength. Batch to batch it moves, which is the point.
We publish no ABV because there isn't one: A'bunadh is released in sequential batches, each bottled at its own cask strength, and Aberlour states only 'cask strength' with no number. Any single ABV you see quoted for it is batch-specific. A'bunadh means 'the original' in Gaelic.
Full record →Starward Nova
Red berries and chocolate from full red-wine-cask maturation. Unlike anything Scottish.
Fully matured in red wine barrels, not finished in them — and Starward sources the barrels 'within hours of being emptied', wet-filling new spirit while residual wine is still present. Grape varieties are not disclosed.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Aberlour A'bunadh for cask strength and sherry bombs, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Aberlour A'bunadh and Starward Nova: aberlour.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.