Price: $95.00
Pros: -Small and lightweight
Cons: -Can't find a bung that will fit and allow for an airlock -Not too hard to clean, but not too easy either
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Haven't finished a brew in one of these yet, but haven't had much trouble yet with sanitizing and swelling my barrels. I bought 4 from Oak Barrels Ltd in Texas and the customer service was great.

Price: $150.00
Pros: Shipped quickly, great taste
Cons: Base construction, seal
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I purchased several barrels from 1000 oaks a few years ago primarily for aging Whiskey and latter a home brewed Rum. They provided a great taste to the liquors but require soaking in water more than once and I recommend aging a cheap whiskey or dark liquor first prior to use with brew or your own concoction as both of my barrels tended to leak a little the first time even after following all the directions to ensure a proper seal. However, after a day or so the leaking did stop and I have had no problems with the barrels since. The spigots can also be a bit wily as was the case on a smaller size barrel I ordered a the same time.

Price: $125.00
Pros: New barrel, works as advertised. Kinda.
Cons: construction is okay.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Not very good after the first use. Barrel is constructed with a lot of wax to seal the cracks, if you take it apart, it will not work again without adding more wax. I wasn't completely dissapointed, but this 5 gallon barrel should cost about 1/2 the price (and I even got a discount). After aging some whiskey in it for a couple of months, I then aged a stout. It transferred plenty of flavor and the stout won at a local beer competition... so no complaints about the functionality. Thing is, there were some lees in the bottom of my barrel, so I decided to take the hoops off to have a look (I numbered the staves to make sure I got it right) - the insides of the barrel where the heads meet the chimes were loaded with a red wax, like a cheese wax or something. There was no wax on the bilge. The barrel will not hold liquid anymore now that I've taken it apart, it leaks at the chimes. It was nice, but now it's a lost art that I wont be able to re-assemble. I have taken other barrels apart that have been reassembled, so this one is just not "great" construction. For the money? excellent... but if you want a good barrel to last you a long time, not this one.