Gran Patrón Platinum is a completely over-hyped, completely over-priced, ostentatious product brought to us by those snooty Hollywood types over at St. Maarten Spirits with the unmitigated gall to put a 200 dollar price tag on a bottle of tequila blanco. Having said that, Man, is this stuff good! Often things don't quite live up to the hype and leave you feeling like you didn't get what you paid for. Like spending 200 bucks for a Hotel room that turns out to be no better than the Motel 6 down the street or 200 bucks for a round of golf at a premier facility that's in no better condition than your muni back home. But occasionally, there are things in this old world that give you the opportunity to pay more and feel like you treated yourself. You might walk away thinking, "I can't do that everyday but it sure felt good". Gran Patrón Platinum is one of those things. Sure, some hard core agave enthusiasts will balk at the "Triple Distillation" as a move away from pure flavor but I think you have to appreciate these things for what they are and Gran Patrón just might be the smoothest blanco I've tried. Is it worth 200 bucks? Probably not but a lot of that cost is in the etched crystal decanter and maple wood box. However this is a great tequila for special occasions and after a taste you do feel like you were treated to something special. Tim Carter brought over a bottle of Gran Patrón not long after it was introduced around the first of the year, 2005. We tried several other tequilas that night but it was hard not to keep holding your empty glass toward the Gran Patrón. My wife absolutely loved the Platinum and I couldn't help but think, "Oh great Tim, bring over a Mercedes for her to drive next time so she can tell me we have to go out and get one". After all we are now the proud owners of a bottle of Gran Patrón Platinum.