July 26, 2010: Sourtoe Cocktail

[xoxoxoBruce]

That pilot from yesterday's IOtD could probably use a Sourtoe cocktail, from Dawson City.

Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a Dawson City tradition and is exactly what is sounds like: An actual human toe that has been dehydrated and preserved in salt is served in a drink.

The first toe is said to have belonged to a miner and rum runner named Louie Liken, who had his frostbitten appendage amputated in the 1920s. Liken preserved it in a jar of alcohol in his cabin, where Stevenson found it some 50 years later.

Unfortunately, the first toe only lasted only seven more years after its discovery. According to the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, "In July 1980, a miner named Garry Younger was trying for the Sourtoe record. On his thirteenth glass of Sourtoe champagne, his chair tipped over backwards, and he swallowed the toe. Sadly, Toe #1 was not recovered."

Since then, seven more toes have been donated to the bar. Number two was given after an amputation due to an inoperable corn; number three was from a victim frostbite (it was also swallowed accidentally); four was an anonymous toe (stolen by a hunter); toes five and six were donated by a Yukon old-timer in return for free drinks for his nurses; toe seven was an amputation due to diabetes; and toe eight arrived in a jar of alcohol with the message, "Don't wear open-toe sandals while mowing the lawn."

In order to get credit, and a certificate suitable for framing, the toe has to touch your lips.

link