Watch People Try Maine’s Moxie Soda for the First Time

Maine’s Moxie: Delightful Treat or Tastes Like Feet?

It’s time for another round of “People Trying Moxie for the First Time.”

Yes, Maine’s famously polarizing beverage, the drink that belongs in the “Island of Misfit Snacks”, has found a fresh batch of unsuspecting taste-testers. Some are ready for the experience. Others have no idea what’s coming.

And that’s exactly what makes watching people try Moxie for the first time so much fun.

Maine’s own Moxie may be one of the most controversial soft drinks around. People all over the globe have taken the plunge, and the reviews are rarely lukewarm. You either love it, hate it, or spend a few minutes trying to figure out exactly what just happened to your taste buds.

Much like our political divide, the Moxie verdict seems to split right down the middle. Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion. And nothing beats watching that opinion form in real time after the first gulp.

So we rounded up some more videos from TikTok and YouTube featuring brave souls taking on Moxie for the very first time. Prepare for confusion, surprise, grimaces, and, every now and then, genuine delight.

A Maine Tradition With a Kick

If you can’t get enough Moxie, you can join fellow Moxie lovers from Maine, across the U.S., and around the world each year at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon, Maine.

Since 1982, the festival has celebrated Maine’s most famous beverage with three days of wicked cool events, held on the second weekend of July. It’s a full-on celebration of all things Moxie—and yes, there are plenty of opportunities to drink the stuff.

But what exactly makes Moxie taste so… Moxie?

This sweet, dark soda has a famously funky aftertaste thanks to gentian root extract, which gives it a distinctive bitterness and medicinal kick. Think Dr Pepper’s weird cousin who wandered out of the woods and decided to stay.

Moxie has been dividing taste buds for generations—and Maine officially embraced its oddball soda status when Moxie was designated the official soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005.

So grab a cold one, cue up the taste tests, and watch as another brave group discovers the eternal question:

Is Moxie a delightful treat—or does it taste like feet?

There’s only one way to find out.