Pop Culture

There's only one place in the city to get Moxie.

by Felicia D' Ambrosio

OVER THE LAST 150 years, advertising has contributed a number of neologisms to the vernacular, usually in the form of brand names that come to represent an entire product category — think Kleenex, Laundromat or Band-Aid. In the case of Moxie, a soda that outsold Coca-Cola and Pepsi at the dawn of the 20th century, the brand name would transcend carbonated beverages to indicate an individual possessed by pep, guts, fortitude, initiative or spirit.

In 1876 in Union, Maine, Dr. Augustin Thompson co-opted the nickname of his Civil War Army mate for his Moxie Nerve Food, a gentian-root extract (the source of the "pep") that was billed as an aid to digestion and a general cure-all. In 1884, Thompson, who foresaw the soda trend, abbreviated the name and began promoting his drink in bottle-shaped wagons. Moxie’s popularity was advanced by salesman-turned-CEO Frank Archer's innovative marketing — securing endorsements from theater, film and sports stars building a refreshment stand in the shape of a 33-foot-tall bottle; applying the Moxie label to everything from tip trays to baseballs.

"Moxie sales declined when the company cut their ad budget during the Great Depression," says Franklin Fountain co-owner Ryan Berley, whose ice cream parlor is the sole vendor of Moxie in Philadelphia. "
"Coca-Cola and Pepsi continued to advertise and took control of the soft-drink market when we pulled out of the slump in the 1940s."

The Franklin Fountain sought out the beverage because, like the Old City scoop shop itself, it's "as old-fashioned a soda as it gets," says Berley, who describes the flavor of Moxie as "a medicinal herbal soda with a sweet, metallic finish. You either love it or hate it."

Loving it are members of the Moxie Congress, a loose confederation of zealots who collect antique merchandise, proselytize to the unconverted and get together for Moxie Days every summer in Maine to drink the stuff at clambakes. Sold in 12-ounce bottles for $3 at The Franklin Fountain, Moxie has a distinctive flavor that strikes an appetizing balance between sweet and bitter — a combination primed for a comeback, especially in cocktails. Bourbon and rye play nicely with the soda’s spicy notes.

For a truly local treat, Berley suggests topping Moxie with a scoop of teaberry ice cream in a cool float. The Franklin Fountain makes all of their ice cream on-site, including that, a native concoction flavored with the berries of the American Wintergreen plant.

Does Berley himself drink it? “Moxie is my favorite soda, far and away,” he says. “Goes great with a cheesesteak.” He even takes sartorial inspiration from the label, admitting, “I even like to fashion myself after Frank Archer, the ‘Moxie Man.’”

(felicia.dambrosio@citypaper.net)