Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old vs Starward Nova
They diverge on 2 of our eight axes, most of all sherried, 3 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Glenfiddich 12 Year Old | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | World whisky |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 40% ABV | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon American oak, European oak | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £38 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £5.43 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £136 | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old from Speyside, Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is a single malt, Starward Nova a world whisky.
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old states 12 years; Starward Nova states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old in ex-bourbon american oak and european oak, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Starward Nova is £17 dearer a bottle than Glenfiddich 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £136 a litre of pure alcohol for Glenfiddich 12 Year Old against £192.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is 17th cheapest and Starward Nova 26th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 6 | 6 |
| Fruity | 7 | 8 |
| Spicy | 3 | 5 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 3 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 4 | 7 |
2 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after sherried comes oily at 4 against 7.
Identical on peaty, sweet and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
Pear and green apple over light malt. The reference point for accessible Speyside.
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: Glenfiddich 12 Year Old for first single malt and highball, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Glenfiddich 12 Year Old and Starward Nova: glenfiddich.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.