British man returns to Yukon to tipple his own toe in long-running tradition

He says they had one other person donate a toe and drink the cocktail a few years ago, but that toe wasn’t mummified and couldn’t be put in circulation.

The sourtoe was first created in 1973 and has been served more than 90,000 times since.

Drinkers are welcome to either sip or shoot the whisky, but if they want to join the sourtoe club, rules require that the mummified toe must touch their lips.

Griffiths learned about the sourtoe story while recovering in hospital in Whitehorse awaiting return to his hometown of Bolton, England, where the frostbitten toes were removed, Gerle says.

Griffiths arranged to have his big toe sent back to Dawson City, where it was enthusiastically received.

The hotel’s existing toe stock had been deteriorating and staff were in search of new digits, especially big toes, which the hotel’s sourtoe specialist Terry Lee described at the time as “the most disgusting and popular with the customers.”

It took about six weeks to mummify Griffiths’ toe in salt after it was received and Gerle says Griffiths has returned to experience the finished product.

“He is returning to do his own toe, like he promised,” says Gerle.

“He lost his toes in the Yukon and now he is coming back to reunite with them.”

When the hotel learned of Griffiths’ intended donation it said in a statement that it would foot the bill for his return so Griffiths could claim the rare distinction of sampling his own toe, and being the first whose lips will touch it. (CKRW)

This report from The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2019

Tim Kucharuk, CKRW, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

British man returns to Yukon to tipple his own toe in long-running tradition

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