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The used bourbon barrel market has never been stronger.

Used barrels once fetched a measly $15 for secondary usage. Now the used barrels command upwards of $125 to $400. Scotch and Irish whiskey producers have long purchased used bourbon barrels, but distillers have found new avenues during bourbon’s latest boom. These secondary markets range from Bourbon Barrel Foods, aging Soy Sauce and other food products in used barrels, to the Historic Pen Company, which manufactures pens out of used bourbon barrels.

To celebrate World Book Day, members of team America’s Best Racing shared their favorite book about horses and racing. From children’s classics to horseplaying guides, our team gives their recommendations for a perfect racing read.

I have wasted a lifetime at the racetrack and to this moment, I still go every day.

I don’t know any other place to go. the toteboard flashes and I move in.

–from “The Horse Players”

For years, I’ve unofficially tracked bourbon sales in Kentucky liquor stores. Anecdotally, store managers and owners have told me their top three volume brands were Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark, and Buffalo Trace. Jim Beam, Evan Williams, Henry McKenna, Four Roses, Bulleit, and few others have cracked the top five from time to time, but the one and two position have been a steady stream of Maker’s and Woodford.

There’s been many a tall tale come from hunters sipping whiskey. Heck, you may have a few yourselves. But did you know this ritual represents an integral part of whiskey history?

Hunters originally packed whiskey for medicinal purposes.

In an 1869 issue of Hunters & Trappers, the publisher explains how to treat a rattlesnake bite: “When bitten, take a good whiskey and drink as fast as you can stand it; allow yourself to feel the liquor before you stop taking it; I mean, drink a half a pint...”

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