Head to head · unusually close flavour match
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old vs Starward Nova
No flavour axis separates them, so the difference on record is disclosure: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years, Starward Nova states no age.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | World whisky |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel, Oloroso sherry butt | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £50 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £7.14 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £166 | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old from Speyside, Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is a single malt, Starward Nova a world whisky.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years; Starward Nova states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old in ex-bourbon barrel and oloroso sherry butt, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Starward Nova is £5.00 dearer a bottle than The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £166 a litre of pure alcohol for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old against £192.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is 22nd cheapest and Starward Nova 26th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 8 | 6 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 4 | 5 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 6 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 6 | 7 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is sweet, 8 against 6.
Identical on peaty, woody, sherried and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet without being cloying, and 43% helps.
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: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old for gift and after dinner, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old and Starward Nova: thebalvenie.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.