I know this is way late, but I'm hoping this will still be useful to you, Michelle. Alpine strawberries are not especially temp-sensitive, as long as they get enough moisture, but the concept of growing anything except succulents in "strawberry jars" belongs exclusively to moderate, moist, maritime climates. Think England or Ireland!
By all means use the half whisky barrel, and don't bother giving them prime sun space. Another name for them is "wood strawberries". I have them as a row lining a path in light shade from an ash tree, and they do fine. (for that matter, I have Tristars used as a groundcover on the sunnier side of the tree, and they don't mind - and I don't mind their not giving me unmanageably large crops.)
Propagation - seeds are readily available (Alexandria, Rugen, Pineapple, and others), somewhat slow to germinate and get to a decent size but otherwise easy. Plants are also readily available, and once you have a few, you can either divide the crowns or root the little leaf clusters which often follow the blossoms/fruit on tall stems. I let mine selfsow, even tho' I know that only the original row is the named variety.
Hope this helps, and yes, they are a very special taste, well worth the effort.
Robin
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