Starward Nova Review | The Daily Pour
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87Great

Starward Nova

World Starward
  • Distiller

    Starward

  • Bottler

    Starward

  • ABV

    41%

  • Age

    NAS

  • Price $30 to $59.99

Distilled by Starward in Australia, their NOVA expression is matured in Australian red wine barrels and bottled at 41% ABV.

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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 79
  • The Whiskey Jug
  • By Josh Peters
  • There is a lot of promise in this glass and I’m excited to see what they do in the coming years.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 91
  • WhiskyCast
  • By Mark Gillespie
  • The taste is tart and fruity with fresh berries, a hint of spice, dried flowers, red apples, caramel, and a hint of grape tannins from the wine-soaked casks. The finish is long, fruity, and tart with hints of baking spices.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • The Whiskey Wash
  • By Melissa Jones
  • The finish is a bit more complex with a little pepper and smoke aftertaste. It's a very sippable whiskey. Starward Nova also makes a great cocktail.
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  • Raided Score: 87
  • Distiller
  • By Jacob Grier
  • The finish is clean with a lingering sweetness and a bit of wood. It's an easy-to-enjoy single malt and a welcome addition of Australian whisky to the US market.
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  • Raided Score: 81
  • Whiskyfun
  • By Serge
  • Roasted, nutty and leathery. Notes of dry Madeira.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 88
  • Whisky Advocate
  • By Jonny McCormick
  • The taste experience is surprising, as just when it draws you in with green apples and banana custard, it goes off on a tangent with mouth-drawing sour green plums, peppercorn, and candied wild strawberries, and concludes with a ground ginger and peppery finish.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 85
  • Drinkhacker
  • By Christopher Null
  • Interesting and unusual? Absolutely — but I’d be much more inclined to gravitate to this whisky if it was a bit less brooding.
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  • Raided Score: 92
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • By Kara Newman
  • The end result is a bright topaz hue and relatively sweet, slightly fruity aroma. The palate opens oaky and drying, showing a rounded cherry note on the midpalate and finishing with soft brushes of vanilla and baking spice.
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  • Raided Score: 85
  • The Daily Pour
  • By t8ke
  • Starward NOVA is a fun look at two things that are uniquely Australian - their malt whiskey, and their tell tale wine. I'm a fan of both, and they combine nicely here to create an enjoyable sip that's easy to enjoy.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Sweet red berries, cream and honey - light, fruity, plenty of sweet character. The red wine character is pretty evident, in that jammy fruit character we all love in Shiraz from Down Under.

  • Taste:

    Medium mouth feel, no heat. Sweet cream, honey, slivered almond, red berries and some toffee. Not mega complex, but plenty of pleasant notes and the sweet jammy wine works with their base malt just fine.

  • Finish:

    Short to medium finish, but loaded with flavor. Caramel, malt, honey, more shaved almond and some lovely pepper to balance.

  • Overall:

    Starward NOVA is a fun look at two things that are uniquely Australian - their malt whiskey, and their tell tale wine. I'm a fan of both, and they combine nicely here to create an enjoyable sip that's easy to enjoy.

  • Score:

    85

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources