Dr. John Pemberton sold the first glass of Coca-Cola on May 8, 1886, at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta. In its first year, Coca-Cola was a new refreshment, serving nine drinks on a daily basis. But do you know what the oldest bottled soft drink brand was available in the US?
Moxie is the country’s oldest bottled soft drink. It was founded in 1884, two years before Coca-Cola, and initially claimed to have “cured drunkards by the thousands.” It is now primarily found in New England.
What is Moxie Soda?
Moxie is a carbonated beverage brand that was one of the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. Augustin Thompson was born in Union, Maine, and developed the drink around 1876 as a patent medicine called Moxie Nerve Food. It was manufactured in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The sweet soda tastes like root beer and has a bitter aftertaste. It’s flavored with gentian root extract, a bitter substance used in herbal medicine. (Source: Wiki Wand)
Why Did Coca-Cola Acquire Moxie Soda?
New England is better known for lobster and clams than soda, but it also has the oldest bottled soft drink. According to the Associated Press, the Coca-Cola Company announced yesterday that it will purchase the brand from its bottling partner, the Kirin-owned Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England.
The Coca-Cola Company announced the purchase of Moxie from Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England Inc. for an undisclosed sum on August 28, 2018.
Coca-Cola has been expanding its non-carbonated beverage portfolio. Since last year, the company has stated that it aspires to be a total beverage company, focusing on low and no-sugar options. Coca-Cola claims to support the World Health Organization’s sugar guidelines, including a preliminary recommendation to consume less than 25 grams of sugar per day.
Coca-Cola might have been drawn to Moxie’s branding. Moxie was created in 1884, two years before Coca-Cola, and retains the slightly bitter flavor of gentian, a root. Its ingredients have gradually changed to accommodate customer preferences, ingredient availability, and federal regulations, but the brand has retained a nostalgic aura. Lisbon, a township of just over 9,000 people in Maine, hosts an annual Moxie Festival.
The sweet soda tastes like root beer and has a bitter aftertaste. Thompson claimed that he named the beverage after Lieutenant Moxie, a purported friend of his who discovered the plant and used it as a panacea. The company he founded continued to spread legendary stories about the word’s origin. (Source: Fortune)
What is Moxie in Slang term?
Moxie was initially marketed as nerve food that would strengthen the nervous system and be very healthy and a drink for athletes that strengthens and invigorates.
The term moxie, derived from the drink’s name, roughly translates to energy, determination, spunk, daring courage, nerve, spirit, and guts. It was popular in the 1930s and has persisted into the early twenty-first century, as in the phrase; This kid’s got moxie! (Source: Wiki Wand)