Picking Up A 30 Gallon Whiskey Barrel Today

So I have landed a 30 Gallon Barrel that was just dumped today. Unfortunately I did not know I would be recieving this Barrel until today so I do not have a beer ready to go. So it will likely be 6-8 weeks until I can get it filled.

My question:
What's the best way to store this Barrel for that time frame to keep it from getting funky or drying out. Also, I would of course like to keep from stripping the flavor from the barrel.

Any other advice for my first barrel adventure would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Based on my limited reading on the subject, just leave it plugged up with any liquids in it until it is ready for use. If it is already dry you could add some rum or whisky back to the barrel to try and moisten it up and add some flavor.