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The Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon offers all the things that a visitor has come to expect: modern comfortable rooms, a jacuzzi, telephones, cable TV, complimentary limo rides to the airport, a gift shop, and also something that some visitors may not expect: the Sourtoe Cocktail.

Found in the hotel's Sourdough Saloon, the Sourtoe Cocktail consists of a shot of Yukon Jack and a petrified human toe. The idea is to allow the toe to touch your lips while you swig the shot. If you do, you will receive a certificate attesting to that fact and also membership into the Sourtoe Cocktail Club. You also will have one heck of a story to gross out your friends.

The tradition of the cocktail began in the early 1970s, and is a very recent tradition when compared to Dawson City's rich gold rush history. All of the toes have been donated. Some had to be removed due to frost bite, while another had met its severed fate at the blades of a lawn mower. There have been a few cases where a toe has been stolen or even swallowed, so there are a number of second string toes on hand.

For more see:
Sourtoe: A Poem
Virtual Tour of The Downtown Hotel
A Personal Tale of the Sourtoe Cocktail

And, of course, The True Story of Trapper Jack's Big Left Toe. Nothing makes for a better children's book then a tale about severed toes and whiskey shots!

Haven't had your fill of Yukon bar room attractions? Then see, "Hotel Owner Displays Dead Cat"