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March 09, 2026

Art in the Age's newest liquor is named after a famous Civil War horse

Old Baldy was the equine companion of Gen. George Meade, the Gettysburg hero buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. It's now the name of an apple whiskey.

Food & Drink Whiskey
Old Baldy whiskey Provided image/Art in the Age

Art in the Age has unveiled the sixth liquor in its growing line of spirits: Old Baldy, an apple whiskey named after the war horse of Civil War hero Gen. George Meade.

Art in the Age is rolling out its latest original spirit, an autumnal whiskey inspired by a famous horse.

The liquor brand's Old Baldy Spiced Apple Whiskey is now on the shelves of select Fine Wine and Good Spirits shops. Made with baking spices like cinnamon and allspice and real apple juice, the 70-proof corn whiskey takes its name from a Civil War stead who rode into battle with a Philadelphia native.


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Old Baldy belonged to George Meade, a Union general who played a major role in the army's victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. (He had a whimsical nickname of his own: Old Snapping Turtle.) His trusty horse was wounded several times, but survived the war and spent the rest of his days on farms in the wider Philadelphia region. Meade, who later served as a commissioner of Fairmount Park, was known to ride him around the city.

Though Old Baldy died in 1882, a piece of him lives on at the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum. The war horse's taxidermied head is mounted inside the Holmesburg institute, alongside other artifacts from Meade's life. The general is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, but he and Old Baldy also are memorialized in a statue in West Fairmount Park.

As for the Old Baldy whiskey, it's the sixth bottle in Art in the Age's growing collection. The brand began bottling spirits at an Ambler facility in 2024 after the closing of owner Steven Grasse's tasting room in Old City. Its whiskies, rum, gin and vodka are distilled at Grasse's Tamworth Distilling in New Hampshire.

Old Baldy Spiced Apple Whiskey is selling for $31.99 per bottle at Pennsylvania Libations in Reading Terminal Market and 13 state liquor stores in the city and suburbs. It's also available for online purchase and shipping.


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