The Sourtoe Cocktail

More of my adventures in Dawson City, YT as I researched my Historical Fiction Novel, A Drink of Darkness

“You can drink it fast. You can drink it slow,

But your lips must touch the toe.” -The Sourtoe Cocktail Oath

I did a poll a while back about which blog posts people wanted to see. While the Sternwheel Graveyard won the poll to go first, I did promise to circle back around to the Sourtoe Cocktail.

What’s the Sourtoe Cocktail?

A tourist attraction in Dawson is to join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club. It is even in the Yukon, Larger Than Life, tourist pamphlet. What is the Sourtoe Cocktail, though? It is quite simple, but yet kind of gross. It is a shot of alcohol (must be more than 40% by volume—no beer or wine) with a toe in it.

It is an actual human toe preserved in salt.

How the hell did they come up with this idea?

Captain Dick Stevenson came up with the idea in 1973 when he found the preserved toe of Louie Linken. The rum-runner lost the toe to frostbite in the 1920’s.

Did I join the Sourtoe Club?

So at first I was resolutely in the no category. But my husband wore me down in the week or so leading up to our trip—you know, the whole when in Rome idea. We were staying at a B&B just down the street from the Sourtoe Saloon, so we figured we’d just saunter down, do the shot and go home. They don’t start up until 9pm. Much to our surprise, there was already a huge crowd. We watched people down the shot for a while, then decided to come back early the next day and get our spot in the queue.

The next day, I got a call from my boss letting me know our business unit was being sold, so I was going to be laid off at the end of the year. Primed for a few good drinks, I headed to the Saloon ready to join the club.

You pay for your shot of choice in advance. I decided on Jameson Irish Whiskey. When you sit down across from the Good Captain, he fills out your Sourtoe Membership certificate. You have to agree that you will not swallow, bite, or purposefully put the toe in your mouth at the risk of a $2500 fine.

Yes, if you are wondering—the toe has been swallowed more than once. Last time on purpose. The toe I had the—uh—pleasure of imbibing is not the original toe. They are actually on their 10^th or so toe in this game.

The toe looks more like a small shriveled sausage than a toe. I took the oath from the Captain and became the 91346-th member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club. If you are interested, you’ll be happy to know that you only have to pay the fee one time. After that if you want to do it again, you can just show your certificate and the fee is waived.

Wait—people want to do this MORE THAN ONCE?

Once was good enough for me. Apparently, the record is 14 times—in one night. One of the times the toe was swallowed was when a guy was trying to beat the record.

Overall it was a fun experience. After Ray and I joined the club, we sat around joking and heckling others. The atmosphere draws a light-hearted tourist crowd, and everyone joins in on the fun. If you’re interested in joining the club, the Sourdough Saloon is in the downtown hotel on the corner of 2^nd and Queen St. As previously mentioned, they start promptly at 9, but I would recommend getting there early and getting your shot ready (maybe have a few before hand to build up your courage).

Thanks for reading. My Alaska horror novella, The Dark Land is now available on Amazon. Subscribe to my newsletter below and get a sneak peak of The Dark Land.

In the meantime stay tuned for more of our adventures in Dawson and the interior of Alaska.