Moxie

The definition of moxie is the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage, aggressive energy, initiative.  To me that is a very nice compliment to have that said about you.  Do I have moxie?  Well, I don't know.  I'd certainly like to think so.

I absolutely have another kind of moxie - Moxie, the soft drink.  I guess I had never really heard of Moxie until I read about it on Herrick Kimball's The Deliberate Agrarian Blog.  You can read more about it here: Moxie from Wikipedia, but here is a little summary of this Distinctively Different soft drink:  It is the official soft drink of the State of Maine and was one of the first mass produced soft drinks in America.  It has a unique flavor that some say "takes some getting used to!"  The best way I can describe it is that it is similar to root beer except it is bitter.  We all tasted it and like it.  It is different, but we really like it.


Moxie is distinctively different!

I'll get back to why it has a bitter taste in a minute.  Moxie was first marketed as a medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" created by Dr. Augustin Thompson back around 1876 and was supposed to be especially effective for treating "paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia."  Interesting! 

The Moxie Man wants YOU to try his soft drink.

Reading about Moxie made me very curious.  Although I've never been to Maine, I do work with a gentleman who lives in Maine and often sends me beautiful photographs of his home and his scenic state.  Gotta tell you, it looks COLD up there...  So the last time he came to Louisiana around Christmas time, he brought me 3 little cans of Moxie, one of which is shown below, and I had the opportunity to taste it.  It does have a bitter taste, but it grows on you.  We rationed the 3 cans and consumed the last one tonight.

Now the reason it is bitter is that it is made with  Gentian Root Extract.  Gentian root, also known as Bitter root, comes from the Gentiana lutea, or Great Yellow Gentian plant and has many herbal, medicinal uses.  I have actually chewed on bitter root before.


Drink Moxie!

My grandmother, whom we affectionately called Bumby, would give me bitter root for allergies.  Each fall something is in the air that makes me cough and Bumby would pull what looked like a small twisted stick out of her pocket and tell me to chew on it.  I have to be honest and tell you that this was quite possibly the most awful thing that I have ever put in my mouth.  She was convinced that it would cure me of all ills.  I would often think that the "root of all evil" that the Bible speaks of was maybe referencing bitter root instead of the love of money.  We would tease each other about that all the time.

My grandfather on my Mom's side was originally from South Dakota and was of Norwegian descent.  His last name was Sneve.  During World War II my grandfather was stationed at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana and my grandmother, Bumby, met him at a USO dance.  Kind of a neat story, huh?  Anyway, they married and settled in Louisiana after the war, but they made frequent trips back to the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit family that still lives there.  I think she would reload her supply of bitter root when she would go to South Dakota, much to my dismay.

Bumby passed away on March 12, 2006 at the age of 87 and thus ended my bitter root "treatments."  Drinking an ice cold Moxie allowed me to taste bitter root again (albeit in a more enjoyable, sweetened manner), flooding me with some memories that I hadn't thought about in a while.

The last can of Moxie

Sometimes I feel like I have "softening of the brain" that gentian root is supposed to cure, so perhaps I should have chewed on more bitter root or maybe I should just drink more Moxie.