Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Hibiki Japanese Harmony vs Starward Nova
One axis separates these two: sherried, 3 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Hibiki Japanese Harmony | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blended scotch | World whisky |
| Origin | Japan | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Strength | Not published | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Not disclosed | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £75 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £11 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Hibiki Japanese Harmony from Japan, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
Hibiki Japanese Harmony is a blended scotch, Starward Nova a world whisky.
Neither carries an age statement, so neither discloses its youngest spirit.
Starward Nova lists australian red wine barrel. Hibiki Japanese Harmony publishes no cask detail at all.
Neither states chill filtration.
Hibiki Japanese Harmony: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Hibiki Japanese Harmony is £20 dearer a bottle than Starward Nova.
Hibiki Japanese Harmony publishes no strength, so we will not cost it per litre of alcohol.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Hibiki Japanese Harmony | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 1 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 7 | 8 |
| Spicy | 4 | 5 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 3 | 6 |
| Cereal | 4 | 5 |
| Oily | 5 | 7 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is oily, 5 against 7.
Each bottle in its own right
Hibiki Japanese Harmony
Honey, orange blossom and a whisper of incense. Delicate to the point of shy.
We cannot publish an ABV. Suntory's Japanese Harmony page states none, and the Japanese site renders its specs via JavaScript, so the widely repeated 43% is not something we can source. Suntory also names Mizunara only as a tasting note, not a declared cask type — so the common 'partly matured in Mizunara' claim is not supported by the producer's own wording.
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: Hibiki Japanese Harmony for gift and highball, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Hibiki Japanese Harmony and Starward Nova: house.suntory.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.