American Oak Barrel - Polished Brass Hoops - 1 liter (1L)

It’s clear this Cooper is a Professional and they take immense pride in their barrels! From the moment I opened the box and saw the well packaged barrel, I immediately felt I had gotten something special. The time taken just to create a sharp, beautiful welcome packet with instructions and an explanation of the lineage that this type of barrel has, let me know that I didn’t buy some run-of-the-mill cheap barrel. I had bought a high quality brand. The barrel was finely sanded and the brass bands were polished and bright. It was created and packaged with care. The barrel sealed just as described in their packet (which was sealed with a wax stamp!, how awesome are the little details?). I even reached out to them with a question on a Saturday at 2am and got a response within just a few hours, sending me a backup part. I’m telling you this company is pure gold and I am extremely impressed with my whole experience with them, and even more so with the work of art I received. You’d be proud to own A piece of the Solera Cooperage!**I was Not paid or compensated for this review...I simply am excited by how nice this barrel is and want to share my experience**

Nice pamphlet and instructions… followed it all to a “T” and even bought barrel wax from the same seller and applied. I know some people do not prep the barrel right, but I took extreme caution and still ended up with a bulge and cracked barrel that leaks at mid height.So in order to keep this thing above half full, I can no longer rotate the barrel as you should for aging and I have to deal with a small leak coming out of the bung as it is better then the larger leak coming out the bulging crack. I will likely try another brand/seller in the future as it seems like a lot of mixed reviews with every seller on Amazon for these things.

I have owned several of these aging barrels and prior to this had chosen the less expensive options. They performed OK but I thought I would try one that appeared to be made more for the purpose and less for the novelty aspect of these items. The barrel is well constructed and is unfinished. The instructions said to check the hoops to makes sure none had been loosened in transit. Mine arrived in perfect condition. The barrel was very well packaged.I followed the instructions on filling the barrel to allow the wood to properly swell. It dripped for about an hour and then stopped. It remained fairly wet at the top and bottom joints for about 4 days and then started to dry. The joints did not fully dry, but indeed the barrel was sealed. I drained the water and added my spirits and within about 8 hours all exterior surfaces of the barrel were dry. I guess my advice is to be patient. Once per week I open to top off and need to add a couple shot glass worth to top off.I will update after harvesting my first batch.

It took two days of submerged soaking before the wood swelled enough to seal. The spigot continued to leak until I hammered it in with a rubber mallet. It is now fine. Patience paid off & I am pleased with the barrel; customer service was good, although I was fearful that I would break the wooden end plate when I hammered the spigot in, but I did not break it & it stopped leaking. It is now filled & not leaking. I would buy it again, & in fact tried but this manufacturer has none for sale on Amazon.

So far i am very pleased with the barrel. The fit and finish is outstanding. When I received it I ran a borescope inside to check the char level. It was indeed a good char. However one of the barrel heads were unchared. Not a serious problem due to the manufacturer disclosing this information from the get go. Looking forward to ageing some whitedog in this and seeing how it comes out. This barrel is far superior to my previous barrel I already owned from a different manufacturer. After using the other barrel for some time with less than desirable results, I partially disassembled and noticed neither the barrel heads had anything done to them and the staves were only very lightly toasted. NOT CHARED as was stated upon purchase. This barrel is indeed charred. Very pleased with the honest feedback and prompt responses from customer service. I will definitely purchase barrels from them in the future.

I was hesitant to pay $100 for a small barrel, but am so glad I did! I was immediately impressed by the masterful workmanship put into these things. The staves are made of beautiful oak, smoothly sanded to touch. The char is dark and deep. When the package arrived, I put the spigot in tightly, filled it up with warm water, and let the faucet drip slowly into the bung hole overnight . . . everything was perfectly sealed by the next morning. We put inexpensive whiskey in it and have noticed that it has become so much smoother already! The barrel is the centerpiece of our basement bar. The brass rings just scream class!

The barrel is fine. Good craftsmanship. The nozzle and bung leaked. Probably outsourced components. I made modifications and works great. Sealed good other then nozzle, made my homemade spirits delicious and a beautiful color within days.

Beautiful product, came as described and pictured, you can really tell they take pride in their product just by looking at it! Worth the price, dont cheap out and buy something else, these are the barrels you want if you plan to really use it! Bunge and tap holes are clean cut. Staves are tight, smooth and uniform. Rings are clean and undamaged. Char is done properly while the barrel head is off and is a uniform 2-3 (scale 1-4). No wax, glue, varnish or stain! Comes with a very informative information pamphlet as well.