The Official State Soft Drink of Maine

As we've spent our summer in Maine we have noted some food and drink items that are near and dear to the Mainiacs (citizens of Maine) hearts.  There is the obvious lobster, fiddleheads (young ferns) and the local candy, Needham's, that was featured in our September 20th blog.

But what about a curious soft drink called Moxie? We've seen bottles of it here and there, including at a favorite restaurant called "86 This" in downtown Ellsworth. We asked the staff at Green Lake Fish Hatchery about Moxie, and got some unenthusiastic reviews like "It's kind of strange" and "It's an acquired taste".

Moxie, Distinctively Different

During a recent visit to 86 This Teri decided to take a chance and bought this bottle of Moxie. She went for the regular "with sugar" version as she thought we should taste the real thing. So we did. And it is kind of strange. It has a little bit of root beer flavor, but is distinctly bitter.

It turns out that Moxie started as a patent medicine in the 1880's, and the basic "secret ingredient" was gentian root. Gentian root is claimed to cure all manner of ailments, but it also a common flavoring in bitters. In the 1920's Moxie claims to have outsold Coca-cola for a short period of time, but ultimately its popularity waned and it has become a regional beverage. In 2005 the State of Maine made Moxie the official state soft drink.

Here is my best attempt at modeling with a delicious bottle of Moxie. With this kind of publicity I expect they'll be selling out in no time!

Mark