Edelstein - The Patrón way: from fantasy to fortune, lessons on taking any business from idea to iconic brand: the untold inside story of the worlds most successful tequila

Copyright 2013 by Ilana Edelstein. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-181765-3
MHID: 0-07-181765-4

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THIS BOOK SOLELY REFLECTS THE RECOLLECTIONS AND OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR, AND THE AUTHOR IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR WHETHER ITS CONTENTS ARE ACCURATE AND TRUE. THE PATRN WAY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, AUTHORIZED BY, OR ENDORSED BY THE PATRN SPIRITS COMPANY OR ANY OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, OR EMPLOYEES.

NEITHER THE ESTATE OF MARTIN CROWLEY NOR WINDSONG TRUST HAS CONTRIBUTED IN ANY WAY TO THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK AND DOES NOT AUTHORIZE OR ENDORSE ITS CONTENTS. NEITHER THE ESTATE OF MARTIN CROWLEY NOR WINDSONG TRUST REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THE ACCURACY OR TRUTH OF THE STATEMENTS, CONVERSATIONS, OR DEPICTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN.

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Dedicated to:
Anyone who doesnt have a dream of their own:
follow the one you love and experience
a joyful personal metamorphosis as you help fulfill
his or her passion. Its an extraordinary leap of faith that
could result in the journey of a lifetime.
Youll never know unless you jump in with both feet.

PART I
R&D

CHAPTER 1
Out of the Blue

CHAPTER 2
A Brief History of Tequila

CHAPTER 3
The Taste Test

PART II
BRAND BUILDING

CHAPTER 4
Hollywood Star

CHAPTER 5
By the Seat of Our Pants

CHAPTER 6
The High Life

PART III
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 7
A Rude Awakening

CHAPTER 8
Loose Ends

CHAPTER 9
Patrn Today

EPILOGUE
No Regrets

APERITIF
Marking the Patrn Way

P ATRN HAS ACHIEVED iconic status as a brand, with its own celebrated culture and millions of loyal fans in more than 100 different countries. Everyone knows it by name and by its distinctively designed bottle with the worlds very best tequila inside. Patrn has been featured in almost 200 hip-hop, rap, country, and pop songs, and is universally celebrated as a symbol of the finest that life has to offer. But until now, some of the story of how it came to be has never been told. Anyone who has ever tried Patrn tequila will be fascinated to learn some of the love, adventure, and turmoil that went into the early creation of this singular spirit. Some even surprised me.

I first met Ilana in 1989, the same year I started Patrn with her life partner, Martin Crowley. Not only did she possess an immense personal charm and beauty, she clearly had a powerful combination of business savvy and creativity. Ilana was already successful in her own business, and her quiet confidence and intelligence added a level of class, sophistication, and credibility to many things in Martins life.

Ilana was there day and night for so many aspects of this incredible adventure, whether it was creating a celebrity rodeo event that people are talking about to this day, or orchestrating the most unique party the Santa Monica Air Museum has ever seen. Living and breathing the Patrn dream together with Martin, she was so much a part of the Patrn story. Seeing Martin and Ilana in their element together, some might think they could be Mr. and Mrs. Patrn. Even the way this couple played together was very unique.

Ever the incredible hostess, Ilana came to symbolize the generosity of spirit that is the Patrn lifestyle. Martin and Ilana lived to make every moment memorable. Their home was beautifully decorated, where no detail was too small for their attention, from the party invitations to the exquisitely handblown glasses that served up the vintage wine and tequila.

Their parties were legendary. I should know. My wife, Eloise, and I attended many. We graciously excused ourselves by the time things got too wild, but we always took away with us a feel-good buzz from the amazing food and stimulating conversation, which we enjoyed with Patrn. And we always woke up the next morning feeling great, with the happiest of memories. I will leave it to Ilana to tell you some of the stories about what happened after we left.

Patrn redefined the way people drink tequila. We created a connoisseurs ultrapremium brand in a category where none existed before. It was never about unhealthy excess. It was about celebration. Some of the way Ilana and Martin entertained made you love life and feel more connected to the world. It brought out the best in all of us.