I was honestly a little worried about ordering this items after reading reviews but thought I would give it a try.I even purchased from another seller some barrel wax to seal it if it wouldn’t seal correctly.When I received the barrel I first read the directions. And if you know a engineer we never do that.First thing I noticed was what they tell you to do here on there amazon page and what peoplewere complaining about and are doing don’t match the directions the barrel comes with.Does the barrel leak when you fill it with water the first time, absolutely.The barrel needs to seal its self and the barrel needs to soak up the water into the barrel walls which is a lot better then your booze.The first 24 hours it leaked around a teaspoon and I filled it back up with just over 1 1/2 oz of water.At 48 hours it was still leaking a little but not as much around 1/4 teaspoon spot under the barrel.Refilled the barrel with water adding just over 1.5 oz.Now on 72 hour mark, it’s still leaks or was and it seemed sealed the bottom is mostly dry. Had a water spot the size of a pea under it.Added 1/2oz of water and closed it back up.Day 4 and 5 no leaks, just added a little water on day 4 to make sure it was 100% full.Day 6, I empty the barrel of water out and let drain for an hour and then filled it with my trial run booze.It’s now been a week with no leaks, I can already can tell the liquor inside is already changing and am looking forward to checking it each week.So this reviews is for Engineers and those that don’t follow directions … LOLThe directions say to fill with water and let seat for 4-5 days to fully seal your barrel NOT 4-6 hours or over night or 24 hours.Also the barrel soaked up almost 4 oz of water over 4 days. Be sure to keep it filled so your booze isn’t what’s being soaked up.Good Luck and Cheers!