LISBON FALLS, Maine — Thousands of people, many dressed in orange, coursed through Lisbon Falls’ closed down Main Street Saturday to celebrate Maine’s official — and somewhat strange tasting — soft drink: Moxie. The three-day affair started 30 years ago when local businessman Frank Anicetti organized a book signing for Frank Potter, who wrote “The Moxie Mystique.”
The festival now includes a three-day powwow, Friday night fireworks, a Saturday parade attracting over 100 floats, lots of local food, a 5K race and, on Sunday, the Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race and the Moxie Car Show. Moxie was designated Maine’s official soft drink on May 20, 2005.
Dr. Augustin Thompson of Union, Maine, first marketed Moxie as a patent medicine in 1876 in Lowell, Mass. It was “guaranteed” to cure multiple ills, including “loss of manhood, paralysis and softening of the brain.” As a nostrum, it was dispensed a spoonful at a time. Dr. Thompson changed Moxie to take advantage of the new and growing soft-drink market at the time. He put it on the soft-drink market in 1884 as “Beverage Moxie Nerve Food.”
Then it should be made here.
Nasty….
Tastes terrible. Wouldn’t use it as a mixer.
LOL…I know a guy who used it as a paint thinner and swore by it to kill weeds…nasty stuff.
one of the worst tasting soft drinks ever made take moxie and ban it states soda my a@#
Moxie is terrible. There is a reason why you can’t find it anywhere else. A little rum might help the taste. But why even bother. I have seen a Moxie energy drink. I bet those are yummy. Taste like DR pepper with cough medicene mix. And do other states have an offical soft drink? Weird. With a festival? Weirder.
Somehow I always thought that Dr Pepper was a much more appealing thirst quencher if your taste buds favored that genre( LOL…the next best thing to robitussin on the rocks) of soft drink.
I have to chuckle every time hearing how many hate it. Out of everyone i know their is only one other that likes it like myself. Still faithfully purchase a case every other week or so :) Hated it when i tried it as a kid but later on gave it another go and loved it. If you placed 20 drinks in front of me and moxie was among them, i would choose it over the others each and every time.
Is it just me or have they watered the taste down over the years. I have always liked Moxie and want it to have that stronger taste I remember as a kid.
I love Moxie. I tried it one day when I didn’t feel good. It helped me feel better. Been a fan ever since.
Good stuff, but I know it’s what made me go bald!
Leave it to Maine to name something that nasty as our official drink. I would rather sip mud flat water.