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Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that was among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It continues to be regionally popular today. It is produced by the Moxie Beverage Company of Bedford, New Hampshire, which (through several levels of wholly owned subsidiaries) is part of the Kirin Holdings Company of Tokyo, Japan. As a result of widespread brand advertising, the brand name has become the word "moxie" in the English language, meaning "courage, daring, or spirit". Moxie's flavor is unique, as it is not as sweet as most modern soft drinks and is described by some as bitter. Moxie is flavored with gentian root extract, an extremely bitter substance which was reputed to possess medicinal properties. It originated around 1876 as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food".〔 Moxie is closely associated with the state of Maine and was designated the official soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005. Its creator, Dr. Augustin Thompson, was born in Union, Maine, but Moxie was created and first produced in Lowell, Massachusetts. ==History== Moxie originated as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food",〔 which was created around 1876 by Dr. Augustin Thompson in Lowell, Massachusetts.〔(Moxie Soda, Created in Lowell, Massachusetts | Lowell.com ).〕 Thompson claimed that it contained an extract from a rare, unnamed South American plant. Moxie, he claimed, was especially effective against "paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia".〔 While Thompson claimed that he named the beverage after a Lieutenant Moxie,〔Mark Pendergrast: For God, Country and Coca-Cola, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1993, ISBN 978-0-465-05468-8〕 a purported friend of his who he claimed had discovered the plant and used it as a panacea, and the company he created continued to promulgate legendary stories about the word's origin, it likely derives from an Abenaki word that means "dark water" and which is found in lake and river names in Maine, where Thompson was born and raised.〔"moxie (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2014. Douglas Harper. 3 September 2014, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=moxie.〕 After a few years, Thompson added soda water to the formula and changed the product's name to "Beverage Moxie Nerve Food". By 1884 he was selling Moxie both in bottles and in bulk as a soda fountain syrup. In 1885, he received a trade mark for the term. He marketed it as "a delicious blend of bitter and sweet, a drink to satisfy everyone's taste".〔.〕 Thompson died in 1903.〔(Doctor Augustin Thompson ). Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage. Published 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2010. 〕 A lawsuit was filed in 1907 by the Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England against the Modox Company and others, alleging that they had copied the ingredients of Moxie and were using the name "Modox", which closely resembled "Moxie", and were infringing upon patents and trademarks.〔("Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England v. Modox Co. et al. : Circuit Court, District of Rhode Island, February 20, 1907" ), ''The Federal Reporter'', v.151-152, 1907, pp.493-509.〕 The suit was dismissed by the judge, who said the court could not protect the legitimate part of the plaintiff's business in this case. In a later case in New York, the Moxie Nerve Food Company won a lawsuit against Modox, which subsequently went out of business.〔 President Calvin Coolidge was known to favor the drink, and Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams endorsed it on radio and in print. The company also marketed a beverage called "Ted's Root Beer" in the early sixties. Author E. B. White once claimed that "Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the good life." Currently, one of the ingredients of Moxie is "Gentian Root Extractives", which may contribute to the drink's unique flavor.〔("Moxie For Mine: More About Moxie the Drink" )〕 The brand suffered a significant decline in sales during the 1930s, which is thought to have been caused by the company's decision to expand its sugar reserves at the expense of its popular advertising campaign. An alternative explanation for the company's decline in sales was that soda fountain operators (also called soda jerks) would give extra blasts of the syrup into the glass before adding the soda water. As Moxie was not as sweet as Coke or Dr. Pepper, this would not produce as delicious a refreshment. The Catawissa Bottling Company in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, is one of six bottlers in the United States that produce Moxie. Catawissa has produced it since 1945. Polar Beverages also bottles Moxie in Worcester, Massachusetts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moxie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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