Head to head · unusually close flavour match
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) vs Starward Nova
These two are not in the same bracket: £1130 a litre of pure alcohol for The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) against £192 for Starward Nova.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | World whisky |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 18 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Sherry-seasoned European oak | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £340 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £49 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £1130 | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) from Speyside, Scotland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) is a single malt, Starward Nova a world whisky.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) states 18 years; Starward Nova states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) in sherry-seasoned european oak, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) natural colour, Starward Nova silent.
What the price buys
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) is £285 dearer a bottle than Starward Nova.
Strength keeps that ordering: £192 a litre of pure alcohol for Starward Nova against £1130.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) is the dearest and Starward Nova 26th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 6 | 8 |
| Spicy | 5 | 5 |
| Woody | 7 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 6 |
| Cereal | 4 | 5 |
| Oily | 8 | 7 |
Furthest apart on sherried, 9 against 6. 1 of the eight axes clears 3 points: sherried.
Identical on peaty and spicy.
Each bottle in its own right
The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release)
Dense dried fruit, clove and old leather. Magnificent, and priced accordingly.
Sold as a dated annual release, not a continuous bottling — Macallan catalogues 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 as separate products, so the spec must be re-checked per release.
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 Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) for occasion bottle and sherry-cask benchmark, Starward Nova for something different and wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old (2025 Release) and Starward Nova: themacallan.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.