Head to head · unusually close flavour match
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old 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
| The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | World whisky |
| Origin | Highland, Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Pedro Ximénez sherry cask, Oloroso sherry cask | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £52 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £7.43 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £173 | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old from Highland, Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old is a single malt, Starward Nova a world whisky.
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old states 12 years; Starward Nova states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old in pedro ximénez sherry cask and oloroso sherry cask, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old natural colour, Starward Nova silent.
What the price buys
Starward Nova is £3.00 dearer a bottle than The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £173 a litre of pure alcohol for The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old against £192.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old is 23rd cheapest and Starward Nova 26th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 5 | 5 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 7 | 7 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is fruity, 6 against 8.
Identical on peaty, spicy, woody, cereal and oily.
Each bottle in its own right
The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old
Christmas cake, walnut and dark chocolate. Full sherry maturation, not a finish.
Matured 'for at least 12 years' — an explicit minimum rather than a nominal age — exclusively in PX and Oloroso casks with no bourbon component at all.
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 GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old for sherry-cask benchmark, after dinner and value at 43%, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The GlenDronach Original 12 Year Old and Starward Nova: glendronachdistillery.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.