The Patrón Way: From Fantasy to Fortune—Lessons on Taking Any Business From Idea to Iconic Brand; How a billion-dollar business ascended from a forgotten dusty agave field in central Mexico

How to sell cheap stuff expensively

Jul 13th 2013 |From the print edition

The Patrón Way: From Fantasy to Fortune—Lessons on Taking Any Business From Idea to Iconic Brand. By Ilana Edelstein. McGraw-Hill; 220 pages; $25 and £16.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

OUTSIDE Mexico (and especially in America) tequila too often fuels vomity student parties and spring-break shooting sessions. But recently various brands have tried to market the drink as a more sophisticated tipple. Among them is Patrón, whose individually numbered bottles sell for between $45 and $500. Though its name is evocative of old Mexico, the brand was started in 1989 by a pair of gringos: John Paul DeJoria and the late Martin Crowley. Now, Ilana Edelstein, Crowley’s former partner, has written an account of the brand’s rise. In Jalisco, Mexico’s prime agave country, Crowley chanced upon a distillery whose tequila knocked his socks off. Ms Edelstein admits that neither she nor Crowley, who was recovering from bankruptcy, knew anything about the drinks business—indeed, when it came to tequila she “couldn’t be anywhere near the stuff without heaving”. But they copied the perfume industry and promptly designed some swanky packaging. The celebrity contacts of Mr DeJoria, who had made a fortune in the hair-care business, helped to get the bottle seen at the right parties in Los Angeles. Though it is still rather looked down on in Mexico (it was not sold there at all until relatively recently), Patrón has become the second-best selling brand in America, partly thanks to its following among high-rolling hip-hop stars. It is also growing fast in the Far East. Ms Edelstein’s account is short on business wisdom but long on the sometimes seedy details of the booze business. Her unofficial role in the operation concerned mainly marketing, including designing the skimpy outfits of the promotional “Patrón Girls”, who were recruited first from Las Vegas escort agencies and later fromPlayboy’s Playmates. She seems to have little access to the business nowadays; Mr DeJoria has written a (slightly wary) foreword and the quotes from other key people are lifted from newspaper interviews. A chapter of historical padding comes from Wikipedia and other websites, according to the notes at the back of the book. Perhaps the best, inadvertent advice to entrepreneurs is to get your name on the business’s documents, or at least on a marriage certificate. Despite pouring years of her life into Patrón, Ms Edelstein was left with nothing when her relationship with Crowley blew up in spectacular style in 2001. She lost a case for compensation and was thrown out of the couple’s California mansion (where the koi carp were left to starve). Though she is admirably upbeat about the experience, it sounds like the recipe for quite a hangover.The Patron Way: From Fantasy to Fortune – Lessons on Taking Any Business From Idea to Iconic Brand [Hardcover]

Ilana Edelstein (Author)

Publication Date: April 23, 2013

The never-before-told story of Patrón Tequila–the brand that revolutionized an industry

How a billion-dollar business ascended from a forgotten dusty agave field in central Mexico

The Patrón Way details the unorthodox building of the brand, the extraordinary creativity and marketing ingenuity of Patrón’s cofounder, Martin Crowley, and his life partner, Ilana Edelstein, and the way Patrón single-handedly transformed the face of the liquor industry. Edelstein was involved in every aspect of the business–from the brand’s iconic bottle to designing the sexy and attention-getting outfits worn by the famous “Patrón Girls” at promotions and parties to running the back office.

Patrón is a tequila so sumptuous–and so brilliantly marketed–that it has become the world’s leading ultrapremium tequila and has changed the way the spirit is experienced: what was once “gasoline” slammed back in a shot glass is now poured from an exquisite hand-blown bottle into a chilled glass and sipped to attain a “Patrón high.”

Today, Patrón has grown to over a billion-dollar brand, and it is the largest generator of revenue of all tequila brands. Edelstein combines the dramatic story of the company’s rise to success in an astonishingly competitive and sometimes cutthroat industry with practical business lessons about R&D and brand building that business leaders can put to productive use in any industry.

A tale of love, sacrifice, celebrity, dizzying success, and ultimate betrayal, The Patrón Way reveals for the first time all the details behind the intimate relationship and marketing genius of the “power couple” that transformed the spirits industry.

PRAISE FOR THE PATRÓN WAY

“The Patrón Way is a good chronicle of a luxury brand’s path to success. . . . Ms. Edelstein dispenses useful advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.”
The Wall Street Journal

“Anyone desirous of making sense of tequila’s current status will be well served by chugging The Patrón Way.”
Slate

“There are some good lessons for entrepreneurs launching a product. No doubt, the rise of Patrón is something many would love to emulate. And Ilana Edelstein was there from the beginning and delivers an inside view of the story.”
New York Journal of Books

“Business lessons echoing ‘know who the true tastemakers are, and use them wisely’ are sprinkled throughout the book. . . . most readers will appreciate the informal ‘tell-all’ style that reveals an emphasis on doing some paperwork to cement their role in any business they help grow.”
Library Journal

“I can honestly say The Patrón Way by Ilana Edelstein was a delicious cocktail of innovation and inspiration with a twist of tragedy for a bittersweet finish.”
TequilaAficionado.com