A British man who lost several toes to frostbite in Yukon is now back in the territory for a reunification of sorts.
Former British marine Nick Griffiths is set to become the most exclusive member of an exclusive club when he visits the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City to sip a so-called sourtoe cocktail; a shot of whisky with a mummified human toe in it.
This cocktail will contain Griffiths’ own big toe, which was amputated along with two other toes, after he suffered severe frostbite while taking part in a nearly 500-kilometre endurance race across Yukon in March 2018.
Downtown Hotel general manager Adam Gerle says Griffiths will be the first “official” person to tipple his own toe.
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.