Moxie-the drink

The threads on soda and beer,specifically bitters,made me think of Moxie.I've heard of this soft drink which currently seens to be available only in the Northeast.Its taste was described as bitter/medicinal.If you've tried,it what did you think?



"...at night I'm a junk food junkie.Good Lord,have pity on me."-Larry Groce

Ah Moxie. The first mass marketed soft drink in the U.S. It is now pretty well limited to Maine and upper New England, but we used to drink it when we vacationed in Massachusetts in the 1950s - my father found it more palatable than I did back them, but because it was featured in Mad magazine it was kinda neat drinking it (kinda). It is an acquired taste. I wouldn't describe it as medicinal, but it is a mix of sweet and bitter (two separate taste complexes) with herbal notes. Its flavor comes from gentian root.

The place to drink Moxie is at the Moxie Store in Lisbon Falls, Maine, near Lewiston. I had a Moxie float with vanilla ice cream there on a hot July day, delicious. Apparently Lisbon Falls holds Moxie Day the second Saturday of July.

Americans used to find bitter tastes (Quinine Water) more appealing, and Moxie is a remnant from that era.

Moxie isn't Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray (which I am occasionally addicted to), but it is worth trying.

Here is an ordering address for MOXIE:

Kennebec Fruit Co.
2 Main St.
New Lisbon, ME 04252
(207) 353-8173

Hope that helps.

hattyn,

Sounds like Moxie is like San Pellegino's Chinotto - herbal, bitter soda. I bought a bottle on a whim one day at Binny's - bleck! Just awful, but to each his own.

vegmojo

vegmojo wrote:hattyn,

Sounds like Moxie is like San Pellegino's Chinotto - herbal, bitter soda. I bought a bottle on a whim one day at Binny's - bleck! Just awful, but to each his own.

vegmojo

I can't stand chinotto either, but a lot of people love it with all their heart.

It tastes kind of like citrus pith to me. Vaguely citrusy, but mostly just bitter.

-ed

Chinotto is made with extracts of an Italian orange of that name that is quite similar to a Seville. That bitter soda is much sterner stuff than Moxie, which I'd say is comparable in bitterness/medicinal aftertaste to the Cuban yerba mate soda, Materva. I love Chinotto. Then again, I love Cynar, Angosturas, Strega, etc.

Other than yerba mate and bitter orange peel, a common bitter agent used in such digestifs is gentian, the key ingredient in Moxie. (Angosturas contains both bitter orange and gentian, as I understand it.)

JeffB wrote:Chinotto is made with extracts of an Italian orange of that name that is quite similar to a Seville. That bitter soda is much sterner stuff than Moxie...

Jeff:

This discussion reminds me of something I wrote a long time ago that got buried in a lemon soda discussion:

Antonius wrote:L'Amore dell'Amaro

gleam wrote:...i love aranciata, limonata, and la rossa... but chinotto just doesn't do it for me. I really can't stand the stuff...

De gustibus non est disputandum... I know people who have the same reaction to Cynar (or, for that matter, to the strong bitters such as Amara Siciliana, Averna, Lucana, Fernet Branca, etc.); they don't just dislike it but find it really repugnant. But Italians generally like things that are bitter and use them as counterpoints to other flavours. And it occurs to me now that I can't think of too many commonly consumed things in the US that feature a bitter flavour.

In this regard, I am always rather surprised at posts I see on CH General Topics concerning how to make dandelions and broccoli rape less bitter. To me, the whole point is that they are bitter and there are other greens that are naturally much less so. I also love lampascioni which can be so bitter as to make one a potential girning champion.

To me, a perfectly balanced little lunch, involving the best sandwich imaginable, is the following: first-rate Italian bread with just prosciutto di parma and fresh mozzarella or fior di latte and a good grind of black pepper, accompanied by a Chinotto... Sweetness, , a little sourness, saltiness, a little piquancy, and, as in life, a dose of bitterness at the end.

Antonius

A

Damnit, Antonius, now you've reminded me that I have to make my breads for Xmas eve. I like to use a mix of rapini and mustard greens, cooked down in olive oil with onions. It had not yet crossed my mind this year.

My noches buenas are strictly Cuban in Chicago, which equates to lechon, yuca, congri, etc., a very meat-oriented Xmas eve that was traditionally for post-midnight mass. But I sneak some Italian non-meat stuff in around the edges, mostly via the rolled breads.

Thanks for the reminder.

Maine State Senator wants to make Moxie the state's official drink.

Rotundo, who admits she doesn't drink Moxie, said the bill title has created a buzz around that Statehouse, prompting one lobbyist to call her a "goddess."

"Those who drink Moxie and love it feel passionately about it," she said.

I think Chinotto is a very interesting drink, but I can't drink a whole bottle. A little goes a long way...

Coca-Cola acquires Moxie, a soda brand that is beloved in Maine

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/fo ... 123348002/