An antique bottle on display at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park in Palm Beach County led two Florida entrepreneurs to revive Munyon’s Paw-Paw, an alcoholic drink dating to the early 1900s that was once promoted as a medicinal cure-all.
Joe Colucci, a Jupiter resident, encountered the bottle during a visit to the park, where an exhibit discussed Dr. James Munyon, a businessman who had owned an island nearby. Colucci contacted longtime colleague Paul Massey, and the pair began investigating the drink’s history.
Munyon made his fortune selling homeopathic remedies around the turn of the 20th century and marketed Paw-Paw as a treatment, according to the supplied account. The original drink included fermented papaya and alcohol. Massey told Fox News Digital that its formulation also contained THC. The source does not provide independent documentation of that ingredient claim.
Colucci and Massey traveled to Pennsylvania to meet with a historian researching Munyon. They later obtained an original bottle that still held some of the century-old liquid and sampled it. Colucci described it as no longer fresh.
The entrepreneurs then worked with a Miami craft distiller on a new version inspired by the historical product. The contemporary drink, launched in 2023, is a 20% alcohol-by-volume aperitif made with 14 natural ingredients, including papaya, orange, grapefruit and hibiscus. The founders say some of those botanicals were grown on Munyon’s island.
The modern formulation excludes THC, according to the account. It is sold as an alcoholic beverage rather than as medicine. The founders also modeled its packaging on the antique bottle; Colucci said they wanted the replica design to help convey the brand’s history.
Massey described the revival as a way to bring an American historical story to consumers. The founders recommend serving the drink in a Palm Beach Spritz, combining equal parts Paw-Paw, prosecco and grapefruit soda.
The report describes the drink’s historical marketing and the founders’ account of its ingredients; it does not establish that the original product treated medical conditions. The modern version is presented as a recreational aperitif.
