Mummified Toe Cocktail

In his book “The Sourtoe Cocktail Club: The Yukon Odyssey of a Father and Son in Search of a Mummified Toe…And Everything Else,” Ron Franscell details the trip he and son took to the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City, Canada. The duo set out on their adventure to drink the famous Sourtoe Cocktail, a shot of any hard alcohol served with a dehydrated human toe in the glass.

The tradition of drinking a mummified toe cocktail began in 1973 when a man named Capt. Dick Stevenson bought a cabin and found a jar containing a frostbit toe inside. Other toes have been donated to the saloon since then, and the saloon keeps the toes pickled in jars until a customer requests a Sourtoe Cocktail.

Partakers of the drink must have the mummified toe touch their lips in order to become a true “Sourtoer.” Patrons simply pay an additional $5 dollars for the toe and can then add the toe to any other drink for free (except for beer or milk). Over 100,000 people have joined the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, and the bar assures everyone that the high alcohol content in the liquor sterilizes the toe after each use.

See ‘Sourtoe Cocktail’: Father and Son Bond Over Drinking Dead Man’s Toe, The Huffington Post, Nov. 4, 2011.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.