The Macallan 1700 series Chairman's Release

Macallan, world's fanciest distillery is famous for its hardcore fans, and famous drinkers as James Bond, Harvey Specter, Bobby Axelrod and lately, yours truly, the Karate Kid. Having said all this, if you have read my reviews before; you will know that i am not the fondest fan of Macallan, some of their expression have made into my yearly top ten, and most of them have received mediocre scores. I managed to buy a sample of this rather rare Macallan Chairman's Release, part of the 1700 series, with an incredible decanter and of course, sold at an unpayable price. Bottled in 2001, only 5000 bottles where ever made and it was originally intended for the chinese market. Bottled at 43%abv, chesnut color. On the nose, i honestly believed someone had tricked me, and put lemonade instead of whisky in my glass. Starts Dusty for a second; then a clean lemon amazing note appeared. Its like a perfect lemonade. There is hazelnut and chocolate. Freshly cut pineapple. After a first sip aromas mantained: lemonade, chocolate and hazelnut. Chocolate and Almond Truffle. Aroma is spectacular. After 5 minutes, maraschino cherries with caramel; Almonds are also present. On the palate, it became much more normal, a classic speysider. Red fruits, Caramel, pineapple, Pepper and Sawdust. All of the above at the same time. Very easy to drink, a second sip gave me Strawberry juice. Aftertaste is nice, with a mild smokey profile, but very short. Tobacco short elegant finish; with a little smoke and dim saltiness. Like a very elegant cigar. Hazelnut and some fancy chocolate. It lasts only 3 seconds. Overall, this whisky has the potential to be a lot better. It just fails to match a wonderful aroma with a more complex palate and a longer finish. Even if it feels like a easy drinkable fancy dram, for a bottle that has an average price of 800 dollars you deserve something better. My score is a fair 89 over 100.