Moxie, America’s Favorite! Official Maine State Drink!

Popular culture

Moxie is often associated with the birthplace of its inventor, Maine. It was designated as the official state soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005.  Every summer, all things Moxie are celebrated at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
There is a Moxie museum in Union, Maine (birthplace of Dr. Augustin Thompson) which, among other memorabilia, houses a 30 foot-tall wooden Moxie bottle once used as a soda stand. This is an annex to the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage located at the Union Fairgrounds.

Moxie Festival July 9-11 2010 click here for more info

Maine is known for its Moxie!!

Dr Augustin Thompson, a Mainer, Invented Moxie. The original instance of Moxie was a patent medicine called “Moxie Nerve Food” which was invented ca. 1876 by Dr. Augustin Thompson. Thompson claimed that it contained extracts from a rare, unnamed South-American plant which was discovered by a (fictitious) friend of his, one Lieutenant Moxie; as a panacea, it was supposed to be especially effective against “paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness and insomnia.
After a few years, Thompson added soda water to the formula and changed the name to “Beverage Moxie Nerve Food”. By 1884 he was selling Moxie both in bottles and in bulk as a soda fountain syrup, marketing it as “… a delicious blend of bitter and sweet, a drink to satisfy everyone’s taste.”
The company used the slogan “Make mine Moxie!”, advertising jingles such as “Just Make It Moxie for Mine”, and the “Moxie Man” logo. President Calvin Coolidge was known to have favored the drink, and Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams was hired to endorse the soft drink. Author E. B. White once claimed that “Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the good life.”

The original Moxie logo featuring the “Moxie Man” on the label of a newer derivative product
The brand suffered a significant decline in popularity during the 1930s, which is thought to have been the result of the company’s decision to increase spending on their sugar reserves while cutting back on their popular advertising campaigns.
Falling out of favor due to competition from Coca Cola, demand for Moxie has waned in recent years, although demand still exists in New England. One of the key ingredients of Moxie is “Gentian Root Extractives”, which probably contributes noticeably to its unique flavor.
Sugar-free Diet Moxie was introduced in 1962.

Moxie today

Moxie is currently owned by Cornucopia Beverages Inc. of Bedford, New Hampshire, which is owned by Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Northern New England Incorporated, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd.
Cornucopia cites fielding requests for more Moxie from fans across the country in their decision to step up efforts to distribute the product. In 2007 they launched pilot sales in Florida and organized a sampling event at Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Catawissa Bottling Company in Catawissa, Pennsylvania is one of the six remaining bottlers in the United States producing Moxie, and has produced Moxie since 1945.
Moxie’s flavor, more bitter than most modern soft drinks, remains unique.

Derivative products

A 12-ounce bottled version of Moxie Original Elixir is distributed to specialty grocers by Real Soda in Real Bottles Ltd. based in Gardena, California. There is also a Moxie Energy Drink, although it does not appear on Cornucopia’s products page. The energy drink is citrus based, reminiscent in flavor to Red Bull, and lacks Moxie’s usual gentian root flavor, caramel color, and (as of 2008) distinctive branding, trading less off of Moxie’s reputation and more off the word’s colloquial ‘chutzpah’ meaning.

Popular culture

Moxie is often associated with the birthplace of its inventor, Maine. It was designated as the official state soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005.  Every summer, all things Moxie are celebrated at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
There is a Moxie museum in Union, Maine (birthplace of Dr. Augustin Thompson) which, among other memorabilia, houses a 30 foot-tall wooden Moxie bottle once used as a soda stand. This is an annex to the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage located at the Union Fairgrounds.

Moxie Festival July 9-11 2010 click here for more info

Explore the Maine Moxie Trail!

In 2005 Moxie was made the official soft drink of the State of Maine, so to celebrate and enjoy this distinctively different distinction, Many Moxie-related Maine events take place every year, capped off by the fun-filled Moxie Festival and giant parade in Lisbon Falls on the weekend of the second Saturday in July. Other events take place in Waldoboro, Union, Kennebunkport, Eliot, and even out of state. For details on all these events, check out www.moxiecongress.org/page2.htm as the summer season approaches.

The New England Moxie Congress is a “fan club” of Moxie and our members get together and participate in most of these events for the camaraderie and in support of the national Moxie Museum (annex of the Matthews Museum) in Union. We invite all to join us as we pursue the “Moxie Mystique” and good times had by all, whether you like to drink Moxie or not!