Is it good? Hell yes. Is it 140% as good as small batch? Probably not. You get the same sweetness, the same apple flavor, the same caramel flavor. This particular barrel might be smoother than your standard small batch, but that doesn’t mean they all would be. It’s a great drink! But I’d probably rather have 7 small batches than 5 of these. It’s close. So close that I bet that less-handsome but wiser friend of mine that he couldn’t tell the difference in a blind taste test. Stay tuned.