The most valuable piece of evidence in the Central Kentucky bourbon theft ring case isn't a bottle of highly sought-after Pappy Van Winkle. It's a stainless steel barrel holding Eagle Rare bourbon ...

French oak barrels sell for around $800 apiece and sometimes as much as $900, while American oak barrels are about $350. To make a single bottle of wine from that $900 barrel, the cost is about $3 ...

This article was originally published with the title “Improved Toggle-Joint Press, Steel Rifle Barrels, and more” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 6 No. 19 (May 1862), p. 289 doi:10.1038 ...