Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Redbreast 12 Year Old vs Starward Nova
No flavour axis separates them, so the difference on record is disclosure: Redbreast 12 Year Old states 12 years, Starward Nova states no age.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Redbreast 12 Year Old | Starward Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single pot still | World whisky |
| Origin | Ireland | Victoria, Australia |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 40% ABV | 41% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon, Oloroso sherry | Australian red wine barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £55 | £55 |
| Per 10cl | £7.86 | £7.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £196 | £192 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Different countries: Redbreast 12 Year Old from Ireland, Starward Nova from Victoria, Australia.
Redbreast 12 Year Old is a single pot still, Starward Nova a world whisky.
Redbreast 12 Year Old states 12 years; Starward Nova states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: Redbreast 12 Year Old in ex-bourbon and oloroso sherry, Starward Nova in australian red wine barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
Redbreast 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Both last observed at £55.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Redbreast 12 Year Old is 27th cheapest and Starward Nova 26th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Redbreast 12 Year Old | Starward Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 6 | 6 |
| Fruity | 7 | 8 |
| Spicy | 5 | 5 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 6 | 6 |
| Cereal | 7 | 5 |
| Oily | 7 | 7 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is cereal, 7 against 5.
Identical on peaty, sweet, spicy, woody, sherried and oily.
Each bottle in its own right
Redbreast 12 Year Old
Thick, oily pot-still spice with sherried fruit. The style Ireland nearly lost.
Single pot still requires a mash of both malted and unmalted barley — an Irish style that came close to extinction.
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 →Both listed for something different; only Redbreast 12 Year Old for after dinner; only Starward Nova for wine drinkers.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Redbreast 12 Year Old and Starward Nova: redbreastwhiskey.com, starward.com.au. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.