Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon, serves a legendary alcoholic beverage known as the Sourtoe Cocktail, which famously features a genuine, dehydrated human toe floating directly in the liquor.

A barroom ritual with a real relic

In Dawson City, the Sourtoe Cocktail turns an otherwise ordinary shot into a test of nerve. The toe is preserved and dried, so it is a hard, conspicuous object rather than something freshly served. Its presence is the point: the drinker is taking part in a local ritual, not sampling an ingredient for flavor.

The rule is precise. The toe has to touch the drinker’s lips as the liquor goes down. That small requirement changes the whole experience: a quick shot becomes a moment of suspense, with the toe’s proximity—and the chance of accidentally swallowing it—part of the dare. The toe is meant to be kissed, not consumed.

The tradition outlives any one toe

The ritual is associated with Dawson’s Sourdough Saloon and has become a piece of local lore that visitors can actively join. The fee helps support the attraction, while the lip-touching rule gives the ceremony a memorable finish. Because a genuine toe is fragile and can be lost or damaged, the bar’s tradition has depended on replacement toes over time; the ritual matters more than any single relic.

That is what makes the Sourtoe more than a novelty drink. It turns a bar visit into a small public performance, complete with a rule, a witnessable act, and a story to carry away. The lasting souvenir is not the shot but the moment the drinker leans in and makes the toe touch their lips.