Don't do the oak dowel. It adds nothing at best, and explodes a carboy (if used in primary) at worst. The dowel thing came from a story/anecdote that Jamil Z told in Brewing Classic Styles. It was something a friend of his did, and for a while became gospel for people making Flemish Reds...
using a siphon is very difficult when working with a barrel. First off, siphoning 55 gallons would take forever, and second, you would need to have the barrel at a higher level than you kegs.
I use this to fill barrels from primary and to fill the kegs after. Works amazingly...
Rittenhouse bonded for anything other than sipping (makes a stellar Manhattan) and even good on the rocks.
Sazerac is also a go-to.
Bulleit or Russel's Reserve for rocks/neat.
I have this exact thing in my Blichmann mash tun. ABout 1 inch from the bottom and all the way around. I contacted John and he said that it was from the machining process and would not effect the use of the pot in any way (and if it did, or got worse, that they would fix it). That was a year...