Best Patron Tequila

Patron has taken the world of Tequila by storm as no brand has ever grown so fast.

In this post I’ll tell you what’s the best Patron Tequila you can buy today, prices, reviews, drinking guide and answer all your related questions.

Patron Silver – Best for Shots & Cocktails

• Nose: Agave, pepper, citrus, alcohol
• Palate: Alcohol, agave, pepper, citrus
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Rocks
• Similar to: Don Julio Blanco, Casamigos Blanco
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

“priced as a premium release while it offers an average taste“

Marcas de Tequila

Taste:

On the nose Patron Silver is rich in agave, black pepper and a light note of ethanol that fades away as you let it breathe.

On the palate, it shows a good body as it feels somewhat creamy. Alcohol hits at first but nothing too severe, followed by a rich hint of blue agave and citrus, along a peppery note.

The finish is long and pleasantly warm with more peppery notes to it.

Is it good?

Patron is competent with a traditional flavor profile as it’s additive-free Tequila free of artificial sweeteners and other gimmicks.

This Tequila is completely legit although not the best in its very competitive category where there are a dozen better tequilas especially for its current price.

We can summarize by saying: Patron is good but not great.

Patron Silver is not the best sipper but it gets much better when drunk rocks as ice tunes down the alcoholic note and those peppery notes.

The problem with Patron is that it is priced as a premium release while it offers an average taste; therefore, this is something I don’t recommend.

Roca Patron Silver

• Nose: Agave, minerals, grapefruit
• Palate: Cooked agave, cinnamon, citrus
• Alcohol content: 90 proof (45% ABV)
• How to drink: Rocks
• Similar to: Patron Silver
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Taste:

Nose offers a blast of agave, followed by a salty note with some brine and grapefruit.

On the palate, you get more agave flavor, some earthiness, natural sweetness, with a jalapeno note and rich minerality.

The finish is long and pleasantly warm, rich in agave with a dash of pepper making an entirely better tequila than Patron Silver.

Is it good?

This is something I would be drinking often if not were so expensive as you can find better Blancos for far less money.

There are two differences between Roca Patron and Patron Silver:

• Roca is bottled at 90 proof versus 80 proof of Silver, providing more body and making it more tasty.

• Roca Patron is uses 2-ton stone to crush the cooked agaves. This method does a better job than the roller mill at preserving the natural sweetness of agave. is seldom used as it’s more pricey and labor intensive.

Patron Reposado – Worst Patron

• Nose: Oak, agave, alcohol
• Palate: Agave, vanilla, alcohol, oak
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Rocks
• Similar to: Casamigos Repo, Don Julio Repo
• Rating: ⭐⭐

Patron Reposado is crafted by aging Patron Silver for 2 months in oak barrels before bottling.

Taste:

Nose is rich in agave and oak at first, followed by an alcoholic note that fades after a few minutes as you let it breathe.

Flavor is high in oak which is surprising for a reposado that was aged for a mere 2 months.

There is a touch of sweetness on the palate but it’s harsher than I was expecting with a bit of clove flavor that might be off-putting for some consumers.

The finish is warm with a spicy pepper tingle and a hint of vanilla.

It does get better when drunk on the rocks but makes a bad mixer due to its price. There are several similar or better affordable reposado Tequilas that you should consider before this.

Is it good?

Overall, Patron Reposado is bad. It is too harsh, boozy and peppery for a supposedly top-shelf Tequila. In fact, I consider it to be the worst Patron Tequila.

Look into my list of best Reposado Tequilas to find better alternatives.

Patron Añejo

• Nose: Caramel, agave, oak, vanilla
• Palate: Caramel, almond, tobacco, oak
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Rocks
• Similar to: Don Julio Añejo, Casamigos Añejo
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Taste:

Patron Añejo has a nice aroma full of oak, vanilla, and roasted agave. Tastes sweet, with butterscotch, creamy vanilla, cooked agave, almonds and tobacco.

It is pleasantly warm making a good sipper for experienced tequila aficionados who like a bit of warmth in their drinks.

Is it good?

Añejo is a better Tequila than Patron Silver and Patron Reposado, as it is sweeter, far more complex and a more satisfying dram. It does not need a mixer or ice so you can sip it neat.

Patron Añejo is good enough to rank among the Best Añejo Tequilas next to other heavyweights such as G4 Añejo and Fortaleza Añejo.

Extra Añejo – Patron’s Best Tequila for the Money

• Nose: Agave, oak, honey, tobacco
• Palate: Agave, oak, dark chocolate, caramel
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat or rocks
• Similar to: Tesoro Extra Añejo
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Patron Extra Añejo was aged for 36 months before before bottling.

The result is a Tequila rich in oak and sweet flavors that preserved the precious blue agave sweetness.

Taste:

Nose kicks-off with agave and oak at first, followed by hints of honey, tobacco and a bit of banana lurking in the back.

On the palate, it offers thick creamy texture providing a good mouthfeel.

Flavor hits with agave and sweet oak, giving way to a dark chocolate, dried fruit and caramel note.

The finish is long and pleasantly warm, with caramel and oak hints.

Is it good?

Patron Extra Añejo drinks nicely neat or rocks.

This is a fulfilling sipper and attractively priced among Extra Añejo Tequilas making an attractive alternative.

It has some of the flavors I would expect to find in a fine bourbon such as the Eagle Rare with the advantage that this is a 100% agave offering, which is a infinitely superior source of alcohol than corn as it’s hangover-free!

Patron Extra Añejo is the Best Patron Tequila for the money making something you should look into!

Gran Patron Platinum

• Nose: Caramel, vanilla, baking spice
• Palate: Agave, pineapple, cinnamon
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat or rocks
• Similar to: Don Julio 70
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Gran Patrón Platinum belongs to the Cristalino Tequila category.

A triple distilled spirit aged for one month in oak tanks and later filtered through charcoal.

Filtering the spirit removes harshness, rough edges and make it look crystal clear.

The bottle and box are handcrafted, signed and numbered providing nice bragging rights.

Taste:

Nice caramelized agave aroma with spice and a kiss of vanilla.

Taste of agave, pineapple, and cinnamon with a hint of pepper; great mouthfeel.

Lengthy finish with balanced pepper, some spice zinginess, and ripe agave.

Is it good?

Is it good? Yes. Would I pay $200 USD for it? No.

Don Julio 70 was the first cristalino in the market and for $72 USD it becomes a far solid option for those looking to buy a smooth cristalino tequila.

Gran Patron Smoky

• Nose: Smoke, agave, earth, orange
• Palate: Agave, smoke, black pepper, pine wood
• Alcohol content: 101 proof (50.5% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a Tequila in which the agaves, instead of being cooked in a stone oven, were cooked in an earthen pit using wood as fuel.

This method provides a hit of smoke yet quite restrained letting you appreciate other flavors.

In addition, Smoky is bottled at a not shabby 101 high-proof providing a more flavorful experience than the typical Tequila.

Taste:

The nose hits with a pleasant smoky note, followed by agave, earth and a tad of orange.

On the palate, it feels viscous and fully textured providing a great mouthfeel.

Flavor brings, cooked agave and smoke at first, followed by a dash of black pepper, pine wood and a touch of orange.

The finish lingers with pleasing warmth on the way down, smoke and a light pepper touch.

Is it good?

Patron has delivered an incredibly good Tequila, with a rich smoky note that does not overwhelm other flavors as agave remains the main tasting note.

Gran Patron Smoky is well balanced, complex, layered and remarkably smooth given the high proof making something you could see me drinking often if not were for the price tag.

It comes at a high price, reason I don’t give it 5 stars but if you are made and having a great time this is something well worth adding to the cabinet.

Patron El Alto

• Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak, peach
• Palate: Vanilla, caramel, pineapple
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Cocktails
• Similar to: Clase Azul Reposado
• Rating: ⭐⭐

The nose brings a heavy vanilla note, along caramel, a tad of oak and a fruity note of peach.

On the palate, El Alto provides a good texture as it feels oily.

Flavor is light and muted, with vanilla and caramel, with a pineapple note to it.

The finish is short and somewhat bitter as oak spice is noticeable and very little warmth to it.

The bottle is quite nice making something that will look impressive in the cabinet but the juice inside is not worth it.

The nose is good, flavor falls flat as it feels muted with no agave flavor and a short and a bitter finish is not what you expect from a supposedly top Tequila.

At almost $200 USD Patron El Alto something I recommend NOT BUYING!

Gran Patron Piedra Extra Añejo

• Nose: Cherry, oak, chocolate, tobacco
• Palate: Chocolate, tobacco, leather
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat or rocks
• Similar to: Tears of Llorona
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Piedra means stone.

The blue agaves used to craft this tequila were crushed by a two-ton Tahona stone.

This method commonly used in Mezcal preserves better the sweet flavor coming from the agave.

Once the agaves get smashed they get roasted for almost 4 days before being fermented in wooden tanks.

This Tequila was aged for 4 years in French Limousin barrels and American white oak barrels before bottling in a beautiful hand crafted container.

Taste:

The aroma is very complex and inviting.

I get a mix of some very bold notes: cherry, oak, chocolate and tobacco; and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the flavor is very bold as well.

Flavor hits heavy with notes of chocolate, tobacco and leather.

The finish is extremely lengthy and good high in and chocolate notes.

Is it good?

This is the best tequila Patron has to offer.

Currently offered in a $360 to $380 USD price range.

I know is pricey but this is a heck of a dram.

I’m often asked if this is a better offering than Don Julio 1942.

Please note that 1942 is an añejo and Patron Piedra is an extra añejo, therefore they are not comparable.

For the same price of Patron Piedra you can get Herradura Seleccion Suprema.

Tough call between Piedra and Seleccion but I would give the nod to… Seleccion Suprema as I consider it one of the best Extra Añejo Tequilas.

Gran Patron Extra Añejo 10 Años – Best Overall

• Nose: Dried fruit, cinnamon, butter, nuts
• Palate: Agave, roasted nuts, oak, caramel
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat or rocks
• Similar to: Fuenteseca Reserva Extra Añejo
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Taste:

The nose is incredibly pleasing as it brings with dried fruit, followed by spicy cinnamon, butter and a touch of roasted nuts.

On the mouth, the 10 Year provides a great mouthfeel as it feels viscous. Flavor hits with agave at first, followed by roasted nuts, oak and natural caramel sweetness.

The finish lingers with no heat on the way down, with caramel and vanilla to it.

Is it good?

This Tequila strikes a great balance between agave flavor and oak despite the super long 10 year aging.

In general, when aged Tequilas spend such a long time in the barrel they lose the agave flavor tasting pretty much like a bourbon.

Yet, Patron Extra Añejo 10 Year preserves the rich agave flavor, while adding subtle oak notes and a roasted nuts hint that makes it quite tasty.

Super smooth with no burn or bad notes delivering a great experience from nose to finish.

Gran Patron Añejo Burdeos

• Nose: Oak, agave, vanilla, caramel
• Palate: Oak, tobacco, caramel, vanilla, agave
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink: Neat or rocks
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Burdeos” means Bordeaux in Spanish.

This Tequila is distilled twice before ageing for at least one year in American and French oak barrels.

It is then distilled again and stored in old Bordeaux barrels. 

Taste:

Offers sweet oak, caramel and vanilla notes which a smooth finish and great mouthfeel that just keeps giving.

It would make an amazing gift as it comes in such a large luxury box to be preserved for eternity.

It comes with a corkscrew and a glass decanter stopper.

Expect to find it for around $500 USD.

It good?

Yes, but not for the money where you can but Tears of Llorona which is the best Extra Añejo Tequila for far less.

Patron Extra Añejo Lalique

• Nose: Dried fruit, butter, baking spice, almond
• Palate: Vanilla, oak, caramel, almond, dried fruit
• Alcohol content: 80 proof (40% ABV)
• How to drink? Neat
• Similar to: Arette Gran Clase Extra Añejo
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This release is an Extra Añejo Tequila aged for 8 years in three types of oak: American oak, French oak, and Spanish sherry oak.

The most important distinction is that this release is bottled in glassware created by Lalique.

Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century.

In addition, Patron’s bee emblem is detailed in gold enamel and an amber rounded crystal stopper is included.

Only 299 were produced.

Taste:

Nose is incredibly good as it brings aroma of dried fruit, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and roasted almond.

On the palate, the body feels viscous providing great mouthfeel.

Flavor is smooth hitting with vanilla and caramel at first, followed by oak, almond, baking spice and dried fruit; agave flavor is barely present, though.

The finish lingers with virtually no heat, subtle oak and baking spice.

Is it good?

Patron Extra Añejo Lalique is incredibly good as it is complex, layered, smooth, perfectly balanced, with no let downs providing a great experience from nose to finish.

Sweet, but no overly so, restrained in oak despite the long aging and rich in baking spice making a superb sip.

It lacks in agave flavor tasting more like a whiskey and for the $7,000 it’s currently priced I can think of a dozen top bourbons to add to my cabinet.

Patron XO Cafe

This is not a Tequila but a low-proof coffee liqueur made with a blend of Patron tequila.

At room temperature this a dull and unremarkable product, but out of the freezer or with ice and mixed with will equal parts Patron Blanco you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Great to have over dessert just be aware that it has caffeine so don’t be surprised if you can’t get no sleep.

Not very different from drinking Kahlua that was The Dude’s weapon of choice to make White Russians.

Which is the best Patron Tequila?

Patron Extra Añejo 10 Year

• Great Tequila that despite the super long 10 year aging preserved rich agave flavor while adding gentle oak and natural sweetness.

Which is the smoothest Patron Tequila?

Extra Añejo is the smoothest Patron

• This the best choice for those who want a smooth and well balanced pour. This tequila drinks incredibly well neat, is sweet, rich in oak, caramel, vanilla and agave with the right amount of warmth making an entirely satisfying dram.

Which is the best Patron for the money?

Extra Añejo is a champ in terms of value!

• This is a steal for the price as it’s offered way below the average price of top Extra Añejo Tequilas.

Patron Tequila prices

These prices are approximate and stated in USD:

Patron Silver	$50
Roca Patron Silver	$70
Patron Reposado	$57
Patron Añejo	$85
Patron Extra Añejo	$90
Gran Patron Smoky	$220
Patron El Alto	$180
Patron Extra Añejo 10 Años	$300
Gran Patron Platinum	$200
Gran Patron Piedra Extra Añejo	$370
Gran Patron Añejo Burdeos	$500
Patron Extra Añejo Lalique	$7000
Patron XO Cafe	$26

Is Patron a good Tequila?

Good at marketing and packaging

Patron is good but my main criticism of Patron is the uneven quality they offer across its releases, some extraordinary such as Piedra, Burdeos and Extra Añejo while others are mediocre are best.

That makes me prefer Don Julio as it is quite consistent, I’m yet to taste a bad Don Julio. Other brands are consistently bad such as… rather not say!

Patron Tequila Specs

100% agave	Yes
Gluten-free	Yes
Keto-friendly	Yes
Vegan	Yes
Carbs	Zero
Calories	97 per shot
Sugar content	Very low
Kosher	Yes, except Burdeos
Organic	No

How to drink Patron? Is it strong?

Patron’s tequilas are smooth, this table presents the best way of drinking each release:

Patron Silver	Cocktail (margarita)
Patron Reposado	Cocktail (margarita)
Patron Añejo	Rocks
Patron Extra Añejo	Neat or straight, rocks
Gran Patron Platinum	Neat or straight, rocks
Gran Patron Piedra Extra Añejo	Neat or straight (use whisky stones to chill)
Gran Patron Añejo Burdeos	Neat or straight (use whisky stones to chill)

Don’t serve your much beloved Patron in a tequila glass aka caballito in Spanish.

Use a good old fashioned glass and a Glencairn for Piedra and Burdeos.

A Glencairn let you appreciate the rich aromas of Scotch whisky and good tequilas deserve the same treatment.

Which Patron is best for Margaritas?

Patron Silver is the best for Margaritas

• It can be mixed in any cocktail of your liking including Margaritas.

• Personally I’m not fond of spending more than $30 in a Tequila to make cocktails so I’d rather consider other options,

Can you freeze Patron Tequila?

All tequilas can be kept in the freezer as the high alcohol content won’t let it freeze. Silver, reposado, platinum and añejo can be frozen and pleasantly enjoyed on a hot day.

I wouldn’t freeze extra añejo, Piedra and Burdeos. These tequilas are aromatic and the cold will tune down the rich scent of agave coming off the bottle.

Chill your drams with a nice set of whisky rocks that can be purchased through Amazon. Patron is a bit pricey therefore you don’t wanna water it down.

Does it expire? Does it go bad?

Alcohol doesn’t go bad so feel confident to keep it for the ages. But once the bottle reaches 25% of its content it can go bad so drink it ASAP as you reach that level. I have lost some good stuff by not following that simple rule.

What does Patron mean?

Patron translates into Spanish as “Master” or “Boss”.

Does Dan Aykroyd own Patron Tequila?

NO, the company is owned by Bacardi.

Dan Aykroyd was importing Patron Tequila to Canada but doesn’t own a dime of the company.

Who owns Patron Tequila?

The Patrón Spirits Company was launched in 1989 by John Paul DeJoria (better known for the Paul Mitchell beauty supplies) and Martin Crowley.

Tequilas were first made in the Siete Leguas distillery until 2002 when a new state-of-the-art facility was constructed in Jalisco. It became the first spirits brand in its class to sell one million cases. 

In January 2018, Patrón was sold to Bacardi, the world’s largest privately held spirits company in the world.

Where is Patron produced?

Patron produces its spirits in Atotonilco, Mexico a little town of 50,000 inhabitants in the Jalisco Highlands. The office is located in Vegas.

Does Patron sell in Mexico?

It does sell in Mexico. You can get a bottle in Amazon Mexico in a better price for what you would find in the US.

The bad news is that Amazon doesn’t ship alcohol to the US for reasons that go beyond the scale of this article.

Does Patron tequila have a worm in it?

Patron doesn’t carry dead animals.

• No respectable tequila or mezcal distiller bottle worms, scorpions, spiders or snakes. Avoid those bottles, those are beverages to attract suckers.

Patron Tequila History & Production Method

The Patrón Spirits Company was launched in 1989 by John Paul DeJoria, who went from homeless to billionaire and Martin Crowley.

Patron started as a contract brand as it was distilled at the Siete Leguas Distillery until 2002 when they opened their state of the art facility in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

The late Francisco Alcaraz was the Master Distiller & Blender behind running the show behind the scenes.

Produced at the Hacienda de Patrón, the distillery sources agaves from Los Altos in Jalisco.

Their signature line up is created using a hybrid technique: half of the agaves are traditionally tahona-crushed, while the other half are modern roller-mill crushed agaves.; This method was created by Siete Leguas.