Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old vs Starward Nova
No flavour axis separates them, so the difference on record is disclosure: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old states 12 years, Starward Nova states no age.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Chivas Regal 12 Year Old | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blended scotch | World whisky |
| Origin | Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | Not published | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Not disclosed | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £33 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £4.71 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old from Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old is a blended scotch, Starward Nova a world whisky.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old states 12 years; Starward Nova states none.
Starward Nova lists australian red wine barrel. Chivas Regal 12 Year Old publishes no cask detail at all.
Neither states chill filtration.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Starward Nova is £22 dearer a bottle than Chivas Regal 12 Year Old.
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old publishes no strength, so we will not cost it per litre of alcohol.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Chivas Regal 12 Year Old | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 1 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 4 | 5 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 4 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 5 | 7 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is fruity, 6 against 8.
Level only on cereal, 5 each.
Each bottle in its own right
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
Soft, honeyed and inoffensive. Built for mixing rather than contemplation.
We cannot publish an ABV for this bottle. Chivas' own domains return HTTP 403 to us on every path, Pernod Ricard's brand page omits strength, and no major retailer exposes it in product data — so the widely repeated 40% is not something we can source. The blend is anchored to Strathisla, the oldest continuously operating distillery in Scotland, founded 1786.
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: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old for mixing and value, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Chivas Regal 12 Year Old and Starward Nova: pernod-ricard.com, reservebar.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.