Surprisingly, the barrel world is one of the most competitive, tightly guarded industries around. Ask for production numbers, and the answer can vary from direct honesty to wildly inflated numbers intended for journalists to use; then again, how do you know which you're getting? The coopering world likes to portray itself as big and exclusive. If there is an opportunity to look bigger than the competition in print, they grab it.Most barrel representatives will even tell you that up front. ...