Mac. By Brookies

Appearance: Clear golden amber. Aroma: Oily, nutty, and syrupy. A scent like butterscotch. [The aroma left in the dry glass is of macadamia nut shells] Palate: It’s akin to drinking pure golden syrup. Over time, some nutty notes emerge from the dense haze of almost molasses-like syrup. Each sip contains enough sugar to induce a diabetic coma. I sampled this a couple of weeks ago at the Cape Byron Distillery, where it is produced, and I genuinely, *truly* wanted to enjoy and support a local product. However, I must be candid – this stuff is terrible. It is astonishingly, relentlessly, and uncompromisingly SWEET, with a profile of thick sugary syrup that completely masks any subtlety upon initial tasting. The only way to appreciate it is by taking a generous mouthful and waiting for the initial wave of sweetness to subside. Only then does any appreciation of the delicate macadamia nuttiness become possible. I suppose this will be successfully marketed to mixologists who will create something inventive with it, but for my part, I would prefer the distillery revisit the drawing board and redevelop this liqueur. It has the potential to be something truly interesting, but that cloying, syrupy sweetness must be eliminated! For scientific purposes, I just added a single ice cube to my Glencairn and topped up the pour of this liqueur to see the effect of chilling. The result was minimal; the profile remained exactly the same, only colder – that was it. Perhaps I am being overly critical – use it in a manner where it will be diluted, and yes, it holds potential, but I still don't foresee the nutty character coming to the forefront in its current state. The tour guide who served this to us likened it to Frangelico. No, it is not, not by a significant margin. "Inferior": 65/100 (1.5 stars)

A sweet profile with notes of macadamia nut, wattleseed, coffee, and an oily mouthfeel.