CANNED BY: Packed by Polar Corp., Worcester, Mass. – Canned under Authority of Monarch-Nugrape Co., Doravlle, GA
WHERE ACQUIRED: Trade Show
ADDITIONAL INFO: Top-Opened Tab Top
COMMENTS: Moxie bills itself as “A Unique Taste Since 1884.” I must admit to never having sampled the unique taste of Moxie, but I know other people who have, and the assessment from many of them is that it is an acquired taste. Originally introduced as a patent medicine called “Moxie Nerve Food” circa 1876, by Dr. Augustin Thompson, it was claimed to contain an extract from a rare, unnamed South American plant, which we now know to be gentian root. (sure enough, I see gentian root extract listed as one of this can’s ingredients) Thompson claimed Moxie to be especially effective against “paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia.” Probably none of that was true, as was the case with most patent medicines, but there must have been something to the taste of Moxie that has kept it on beverage shelves for well over 100 years, primarily in New England.
For more information about Moxie, and the museum dedicated to it in Union, Maine, check out this very cool entry from Roadside America.com:
Rick's Can Collection 