A Sourtoe Cocktail

The weather in Dawson has been fabulous. It's been sunny and warm every day we've been here and it's made the town seem just magical. I think I could move here! But then I think about the winter with no sun, and the -40 weather, and then seeing it in the summer is enough for me.


Dawson City is still a rough-and-tumble place. They still have authentic gold prospectors and sled dogs, and they have a delightful drink called the Sourtoe Cocktail. Trivia: the Sourtoe is in part a play on the word "Sourdough", which is what they call a person who has lived in the Yukon for one full year, and has seen the Yukon River freeze and then thaw. Well Mark got it into his head that he HAD to "do the toe", so we went off to the bar to get one. I couldn't have people asking me why I didn't do it when he did, so we both had one. Do you have an idea of what it is yet? Well let me tell you. A Sourtoe Cocktail is an alcoholic beverage, served only in Dawson City. It is made using a shot of Yukon Gold Whiskey and a pickled severed human toe.


Yes, a real toe.


Yes, really.

So we went off to the bar and each had a Sourtoe. The toe is plopped into the drink, and then when you down the whiskey, the rule is that the toe has to touch your lips. There have been toes that have been accidentally consumed in the past, but the current toe is pretty big and I think you'd have to be pretty loaded to accidentally swallow it. They threaten that if you swallow it you have to provide a replacement. I think they're joking. Kind of.