The Sourtoe Cocktail
You would expect a Dawson Bar to have a specialty Sourdough Cocktail. That seems reasonable. but what about a Sourtoe Cocktail?
That's right. This drink is world famous, and it contains a petrified human toe.
If you walk into the Sourdough Saloon in the Downtown Hotel most any day during Happy Hour, you'll see a seafaring-type character initiating the brave into the Sourtoe Cocktail Club. Captain Bill Holmes will tell you the story of the original appendage connoisseur, Captain Dick Stevenson, as he gently plops the pickled toe into the drink of your choice. (Sorry, no water allowed.)
If you swallow your fear (and NOT the toe - Captail Bill is strict in his rule than any lost toe must be replaced) and slam back the toe-filled drink, you are officially among the nearly 15,000 world-wide members of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club.
Bill Holmes took over from Dick Stevenson as captain of the Yukon Lou, a paddlewheeler that tours the Yukon River each summer. The other duty he took over was the toe.
Captain Dick began the sourtoe saga in September of 1973. The idea sprang from a human toe found in Dick's new cabin, and a conversation about an Ice Worm drink in a famous Robert Service poem.
From there, Captain Dick's club became a success. By the time Captain Dick retired, he had gone through seven different toes (some swallowed) and had a log book containing almost 13,000 names of sourtoers.
Captain Bill has added to the list which includes a 6 month old child and a 91 year old toe-swallower. The Sourtoe Cocktail Club is sure to draw crowds, as 1999 is the 26th anniversary of the toe.
Do not use the story without permission by the copyright holder**
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