A mere 3 years after declaring my desire to try Moxie in this thread, my desire was finally achieved!
I found this tiny grocery store while on vacation, in the middle of nowhere. Not only did it have Moxie, but it had such soft drinks as “Bubble Up” and a wide variety of Faygo sodas.
Anyway, I tried it at long last.
Interesting. Sort of a fusion of root beer, with cola overtones, and a new, weird taste that was almost completely unlike anise. Perhaps that was the gentian root.
I brought a bottle home as a souvenier. I must try it again.
I’m curious. Does it only retail in one region? I didn’t know it still existed at all. Do little grocery stores in the middle of nowhere carry unusual products as standard?
I understand it’s generally available in parts of New England, but not a lot of other places. Until the other day, I’ve never seen it anywhere. And I generally keep my eyes open for oddball products.
You can never tell what you’ll find in little grocery stores in the middle of nowhere.
Gentian is bitter. Bitter, bitter, bitter, with an overtone of bitter. It’s wonderful, but I’m sort of shocked it’s in a bottled beverage, but of course bar bitters are used all the time, and often contain gentian. I used gentian extract when I quit smoking - after meals, just one drop of gentian got the ol’ gut moving like nicotine used to.
Ever used gentian violet*? That’s the same plant. Bitter.
*aka Andergon, Aniline violet, Axuris, Badil, Basic Violet 3, Brilliant Violet 58, Gentiaverm, Hexamethyl-p-rosaniline chloride, Meroxylan, Meroxyl, Methylrosalinide chloride, Methyl Violet 10BNS, Pyoktanin, Vianin, Viocid, and Viola Crystallina
Yeah, I’ve used it for oral thrush resistant to the common antifungals. Paint the inside of the mouth with it, and away goes the thrush. Of course the patient is left with a bright purple mouth for a while.
I love Moxie! Of course, my local soda shop has tons of it…you should have asked. Ditto the Faygo, Bubble-Up, etc. About the only thing they don’t carry is AJ Stephans! :mad:
I ordered a couple bottles several years back from Pop the Soda Shop.
Quite an interesting flavor. I really didn’t care for the first bottle I drank, but then as I got towards the bottom of the bottle, the bitterness didn’t seem as apparent. The second bottle I drank I guess I knew what to expect and it was fairly enjoyable.
I definitely recommend that site if you’re interested in trying soda that isn’t available in your region, though.
As a long-time Moxie drinker, I’ve noticed that the characteristic “Moxiness” taste on the back of the tongue (where bitter is sensed) can vary considerably from can to can. I have no explanation for this.
Moxie is made in maine. it is indeed a regional thing-and most of its devotees are over 65. The stuff tasest absolutely AWFUL-bitter, must, and with an awfulk aftertaste. I can’t imagine anybody liking the stuff-it is probably an acquired taset. my teenage daughter opened a can once, and threw it away-she though it was a “normal” soda drink that had gone bad.
MOXIE-awful, awful stuff!, Not even Dr. Brown’s celery soda (weird stuff) tastes as bad! :eek:
