Moxie
 Monarch-era Moxie can | |
| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Cornucopia Beverages (Kirin Brewery Company) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1876 |
| Discontinued | Moxie Cherry Cola, Moxie Cream Soda |
| Color | Caramel |
| Variants | Diet Moxie, Moxie Energy, Moxie Energy Citrus, Moxie Energy Explosion, Moxie Energy Thunder, Olde New England Seltzer |
| Website | www |
Moxie is a carbonated beverage that was one of the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It continues to be regionally popular today. It is the main ingredient in the New Englander cocktail.
Moxie has a unique flavor that is not as sweet as that of most modern soft drinks and that is described by some as "bitter."
History
Moxie originated as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food,"[1] which was created around 1876 by Dr. Augustin Thompson. Thompson claimed that it contained an extract from a rare, unnamed South American plant, which had supposedly been discovered by a friend of his, Lieutenant Moxie,[1] who had used it as a panacea. Moxie, he claimed, was especially effective against "paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia."[1]
After a few years, Thompson added soda water to the formula and changed the product's name to "Beverage Moxie Nerve Food." By 1884 he was selling Moxie both in bottles and in bulk as a soda fountain syrup. He marketed it as "a delicious blend of bitter and sweet, a drink to satisfy everyone's taste."[2]
A lawsuit was filed in 1907 by the Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England against the Modox Company and others, alleging that they had copied the ingredients of Moxie and were using the name "Modox,"[3] which closely resembled "Moxie," and were infringing upon patents and trademarks.[4] The suit was dismissed by the judge, who said the court could not protect the legitimate part of the plaintiff's business in this case. In a later case in New York, the Moxie Nerve Food Company won a lawsuit against Modox, which subsequently went out of business.[3]
President Calvin Coolidge was known to favor the drink, and Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams endorsed it on radio and in print. The company also marketed a beverage called "Ted's Root Beer" in the early sixties. Author E. B. White once claimed that “Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the good life.”[5] Currently, one of the ingredients of Moxie is “Gentian Root Extractives,” which may contribute to the drink's unique flavor.[6]
The brand suffered a significant decline in sales during the 1930s, which is thought to have been caused by the company's decision to expand its sugar reserves at the expense of its popular advertising campaign.
Due to competition from Coca Cola, demand for Moxie has waned in recent years, although the brand persists in New England.
Sugar-free Diet Moxie was introduced in 1962.
Advertising
In its advertising, Moxie used “Make Mine Moxie!” advertising jingles, the slogan “Just Make It Moxie for Mine,” and a "Moxie Man" logo.
A unique adverting tool was the Moxie Horsemobile, a modified automobile whose driver sat on a large model of a horse. The first Horsemobiles were deployed around 1918. Moxie at one time maintained about two dozen of them, and they appeared in parades and other public functions.
Popular culture
Through extensive advertising, the neologism "moxie" has entered popular American usage with the meaning "courage, daring, and energy,"[7][8] as in "This guy's got moxie!"
Moxie is closely associated with the state of Maine. Its creator, Dr. Augustin Thompson, was born in Union, Maine. Moxie was designated the official soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005.[9]
There is a Moxie museum in Union, Maine, which houses a 30-foot-tall wooden Moxie bottle, once used as a soda stand, and other historical Moxie artifacts. This is an annex to the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, which is located at the Union Fairgrounds.
Every summer, "all things Moxie" are celebrated at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
It inspired the name "Moxie Cowznofski". Ms. Cowznofski was briefly the girlfriend of Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman during the late 1950s. Moxie was frequently mentioned in the magazine at that time.
Moxie is the main ingredient of the New Englander, a cocktail that originated in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[citation needed].
The field hockey team of Phillips Exeter Academy refer to themselves as "Moxie".
Dr. Byron Orpheus requests Moxie at a diner in The Venture Bros. episode "Return to Spider-Skull Island" but is disappointed to find that the restaurant serves only "grape, orange, [and] cola."
Moxality
mox-ie n. slang 1) An attitude of vigor, pep, courage, nerve, skill, and know-how. 2) First American soft drink (circa 1884).
so-dal-i-ty noun 1) A society or association, especially a devotional or charitable society. 2) A fellowship or fraternal group.
Derived from the words moxie and sodality, the hybrid moxality is a loose-knit association of people who share an attitude of vigor, pep, courage, nerve, skill, and knowhow. They also share either a taste for (or at least an appreciation of) the Moxie soft drink.
Introduced in 1884, Moxie was the first soft drink in the United States (long before Coke) originally marketed as a cure-all providing the necessary “pep” or “energy” to return a person’s moxie. The name perfectly describes this unusual, quirky cola, which is still available in New England. The Maine Legislature adopted it as the Official Soft Drink of Maine in 2005.
Accomplishments by individuals or groups in which a special energy, gusto or spunk (moxie) was pivotal to success is often celebrated with friends and family, or even in solitude, with a toast. The main or exclusive ingredient of the drink is, naturally, the Moxie soft drink.
Traditional moxality ceremonial toasts include Moxie soda swallowed in one gulp, much like taking a shot of whisky, but from a jigger-sized (3+ ounces) glass or cup known as a noggin. The drink is smooth going down but the distinctive aftertaste reflects the true grit of someone who attacks life with moxie. Those who share these values, whether they partake of the drink regularly or not, are a part of moxality.
Moxie today
The Moxie brand was purchased in 1966 by the Monarch Beverage Company of Atlanta. In 2007 Monarch sold it to its current owner, Cornucopia Beverages Inc. of Bedford, New Hampshire, which is owned by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England, a subsidiary of the Kirin Brewery Company, based in Tokyo.[10]
Cornucopia cites increasing requests for Moxie from fans across the country in its decision to step up efforts to distribute the product. In 2007 it launched pilot sales in Florida and organized a sampling event at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Catawissa Bottling Company in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, is one of six bottlers in the United States that produce Moxie. Catawissa has produced it since 1945.[11]
Derivative products
A 12-ounce bottled version called Moxie Original Elixir is distributed to specialty grocers by Real Soda in Real Bottles Ltd., based in Gardena, California.[citation needed] There is also a Moxie Energy Drink, although it does not appear on Cornucopia's products list.[1] The energy drink is citrus-based; it lacks Moxie's gentian root tang, caramel color, and (as of 2008) its distinctive branding.
References
- ^ a b c Mark Pendergrast: For God, Country and Coca-Cola, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1993, ISBN 978-0-465-05468-8
- ^ Anne Cooper Funderburg (2001), Sundae best: a history of soda fountains, Popular Press, pp. 67–68, ISBN 9780879728540.
- ^ a b Modox drink website
- ^ "Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England v. Modox Co. et al. : Circuit Court, District of Rhode Island, February 20, 1907", The Fed of hiseral Reporter, v.151-152, 1907, pp.493-509.
- ^ written at Harvard-Radcliffe, "Make Mine Moxie", Perspective, Cambridge, Massachusetts, November, 2001, retrieved October 9, 2007
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Moxie For Mine: More About Moxie the Drink"
- ^ The Chambers Dictionary, 1993, ISBN 0-550-10255-8
- ^ moxie - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- ^ http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/statehouse/symbols/Emblems.htm
- ^ Paiste, Denis (2007-04-06). "Moxie, same taste, new owner" (reprint). New Hampshire Union Leader. Union Leader Corporation. p. B3. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
Cornucopia Beverages, a unit of Bedford-based Coca-Cola Co. of Northern New England Inc., has acquired the Moxie brand from Atlanta-based Monarch Beverage Co at undisclosed terms. Cornucopia previously bottled Moxie under license from Monarch. 'There's really nothing to compare it to. It's not a cola, and it's not a root beer; it's its own little niche,' Moxie brand manager Justin Conroy said in a telephone interview. He said no immediate changes are planned as a result of the brand purchase. Last year, the Moxie brand sold about 450,000 192-ounce cases, equivalent to 7.2 million 12-ounce cans. The drink is bottled in Londonderry/New Hampshire, Worcester/ Massachusetts, and Catawissa/Pennsylvania. Conroy said 75 percent of production ships from Londonderry. Tracing its roots to Maine-born Dr. Augustin Thompson, Moxie was first marketed as a carbonated soft drink in 1884. Today, the soft drink is available in regular, diet and energy drink versions. It is Maine's official state soft drink. The Moxie page on the Monarch Beverage Co. Web site states that Moxie was first marketed in 1876 as a medicine. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Northern New England Inc. is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. The firm bottles Coca-Cola brands under authority of the Coca-Cola company and also has license rights for Cadbury Schweppes brands, Dr. Pepper, Sunkist and Canada Dry.
{{cite news}}: line feed character in|quote=at position 245 (help) - ^ Abelson, Jenn (August 5, 2007), "Can a bitter taste find sweet life again? Unique N.E. soda Moxie thirsting for a revival", The Boston Globe, retrieved 2007-08-15
Recently added energy drink flavors include a fruit punch Moxie Explosion Energy Drink and a blueberry/cranberry mix Moxie Thunder Energy Drink.
Further reading
- Bowers, Q. David, The Moxie Encyclopedia, Vestal Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-911572-43-8
- Grace, Roger M., "Is Hires the Longest Marketed Soft Drink? Or Moxie? Or...?", Metropolitan News-Enterprise newspaper, Los Angeles, Thursday, November 17, 2005, p. 15
- Potter, Frank N., The Book Of Moxie, Paducah, KY : Collector Books, 1987. ISBN 0-89145-348-2.
External links
- Moxie info
- Moxie facts
- "Make Mine a Moxie!" — Maine Farmhouse Journal, July 6–10, 2000