Jan 20, 2019 captain dick stevenson, originator of the sourtoe cocktail in dawson city, yukon. The downtown bar in dawson city serves a tumbler of your liquor choice with a real severed human toe. The yukon odyssey of a father and son in search of a. It was a trip six years in the making, and the experience inspired franschell to write the sourtoe cocktail club. The sourtoe cocktail club and millions of other books are available for. Jan 08, 2020 the pickled toe was then used in drinks to initiate sourdoughs those who have experienced at least one winter in the yukon leading to the establishment of the sourtoe cocktail club in 1973. A fatherandson love story set against epic backdrops an. Ivan doig, author of this house of sky sourtoe is a splendid fatherandson odyssey into some of the very last of north americas fastshrinking wilderness. Aug 27, 20 josh martin no relation to josh from new orleans has also tasted the wrinkly flesh of the sourtoe.
Aug 28, 20 served by the sourtoe cocktail club at dawson citys downtown hotel, the sourtoe can be any drink what makes it a sourtoe cocktail is the addition of a real, preserved amputated toe, which is. Among other telling truths the certificate states, your name here drank an authentic sourtoe cocktail, thereby following in the wayward even staggering footsteps of capt. You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the toe. Joining the sourtoe cocktail club is a unique experience you wont find anywhere else in the world. Discover the sourtoe cocktail in dawson, yukon territory. Franscells memoir, the sourtoe cocktail club globe pequot, is an intimate account of rons extraordinary road trip to the yukon with his son, where they drank a cocktail containing a mummified human toe and spent the longest day of the year under an arctic sun that never set. The sourtoe cocktail dawson, yukon territory gastro obscura. According to the sourtoe cocktail club, in july 1980, a miner named garry younger was trying for the sourtoe record. Step 1 come down to the sourdough saloon step 2 purchase a shot most club members prefer yukon jack. There is a ceremony, you join the club, and get a card. The sourtoe cocktail dawson, yukon territory gastro. While consuming the drink, your lips must touch the toe. To gain admittance to a club of drinkers of the sourtoe cocktail, members must drink the cocktail and the lips of the participant must touch the toe.
Jul 06, 2015 the first toe lasted only seven more years after its discovery. Its billed as a fatherandson love story set against epic backdrops and overlooked places. According to the bar, the drinks origins date back to the 1920s. Ron franscell author ron franscell is the author of the crime buffs guide to the outlaw rockies and the crime buffs guide to. In the end, like all great books, sourtoe is a story about the power of love. The publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in. The sourtoe cocktail club is a road bumpy and gritty and real, a road lined with old movies and heavy metal, a road of disappointments past and dreams of things to come, a road beside which campfires crackle with history and music and books, a road where jack london points the way toward the arctic circle, a tin box, and a mummified toe. The lonely sound of our boots on the wooden sidewalk reminded me of a cattle rustler heading to the gallows in a 1950s western movie. Established in 1973, the sourtoe cocktail has become a timehonoured tradition in dawson city. Famous sourtoe cocktail returned to yukon bar smart news. Aug 24, 2011 sourtoe is a truelife love story about fathers and sons, set against epic backdrops and overlooked places. After an hour of rest, the sourtoe cocktail beckoned so we left the cozy hotel and moseyed across town to the sourdough saloon located in the downtown hotel.
The downtown hotel is an establishment at second avenue and queen street in dawson city, yukon, canada. Bar owner dick van nostrand serves up a sourtoe cocktail using a real, preserved human toe at downtown hotel in dawson city, yukon canada. On his thirteenth glass of sourtoe champagne, his chair tipped over backwards, and he swallowed the toe. The yukon odyssey of a father and son in search of a mummified.
Sourtoe is a truelife love story about fathers and sons, set against epic backdrops and overlooked places. Dick stevenson, who retired makes himself at a home in the corner of the downtown hotel bar in dawson city, yukon. The sourtoe cocktail club meet your next favorite book. Show off your sourtoe cocktail certificate after kissing the dead toe. The practice was established in 1973 when local captain dick stevenson unearthed an alcoholpreserved toe dating back to the 1920s mining days, in an old cabin. Its been almost 50 years since dick first convinced the eldorado hotel owners to let him offer the sourtoe cocktail to patrons, and the toe that touched my lips last august was not the toe that louie once called his own louies original toe was accidentally swallowed in 1980 by a very drunk miner who fell over backwards on his chair while downing his 8th. After ron franscells divorce, he feared he was the continuing link in a long chain of estranged fathers. I moseyed over to the downtown hotel an hour before the official sourtoe cocktail kickoff of 9pm. In the early 1970s, this wild yukon character originally from new brunswick named captain dick stevenson a. Franscells memoir, the sourtoe cocktail club globe pequot, is an intimate account of rons extraordinary road trip to the yukon with his son, where they drank a cocktail containing a mummified human toe and spent the longest day of the year. This drink has even got a club of intrepid followers called the sourtoe cocktail club, whose rule is that drinkers lips must touch the toe. On his thirteenth glass of sourtoe champagne, his chair tipped over. Jan 01, 2014 with a little bit of history and a lot of flavor, the cocktail club is a guide for connecting with your friends over the besttasting therapy aroundcocktails. Yes, its an actual human toe in a drink someone has stolen the mummified human toe included in the signature drink at the downtown hotel in dawson city, canada.
Years later, while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by captain dick stevenson. Tasting the sourtoe cocktail in dawson city, yukon, on an. The legend of the first sourtoe dates back to the 1920s and features a feisty rumrunner named louie linken and his brother otto. The story and the man behind the sourtoe cocktail in dawson.
Served by the sourtoe cocktail club at dawson citys downtown hotel, the sourtoe can be any drink what makes it a sourtoe cocktail is. The sourtoe cocktail clubron franscell 1004 by true. Since its inception, the club has acquired by donation over 10 toes. Science explains why canadas human toe cocktail is mostly. The famous sourtoe cocktail the great canadian travel co. In 1973, legend has it that captain dick stevenson found the jar and the toe in a remote cabin. The yukon odyssey of a father and son in search of a mummified toe. Sourtoe cocktail club the yukon odyssey of a father and son in search of a mummified human toe. The sourtoe cocktail a yukon tradition i backpack canada. The sourtoe cocktail club is a road bumpy and gritty and real.
The citizens of canadas yukon region enjoy a reputation for wild, eccentric behavior as untamed as the surrounding wilderness. Members are inducted into the club nightly at the sourdough saloon. The sourtoe cocktail club is a truelife love story about fathers and sons, set against epic backdrops and overlooked places. Inductees into the sourtoe cocktail club begin to lineup early but i was there to learn the history of the tradition from the toe captain, terry lee. There are plenty of accounts of how the yukons most celebrated cocktail came to be, but its always best to go straight to the source. The sour toe started in september 1973 when a local eccentric named captain dick stevenson found a. During one of their crossborder deliveries, they ran into an awful blizzard. To date, the club has over 100,000 members, hailing from. Famous shriveled toe returned to yukon bar smithsonian magazine. This toe is mummified, and preserved in salt when not in use. The sourtoe cocktail captures the wild creative spirit of the frozen north, and is a story that will never fail you at cocktail parties. He became the 36,796th member of the sourtoe club while visiting dawson city.
Feb 14, 2014 years later, while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by captain dick stevenson. The sourtoe cocktail began during prohibition with a case of frostbite. The sourtoe cocktail club is a worldbeater of a tale of the fatherson odyssey to the farthest reach of road and heart. The cocktail club goodreads meet your next favorite book. It is also a road book that attempts to answer, for one father and son, a pivotal life. The sourtoe cocktail clubron franscell 1004 by true murder. We enter our names in the sourtoe log book i am number 12,174, and mike writes our names onto our yellow certificates and hands them to us. Dawson city is named after george mercer dawson, director of the geological survey of canada and leader of the expedition that explored the region in 1887, with the purpose of surveying the alaska boundary at the yukon river. Bestselling mystery and truecrime author ron franscell will discuss and sign his two new books. While there consume any drink that has floating in it a severed human toe that has been dehydrated and preserved in salt. The sourtoe cocktail club is his new book that chronicles the adventure. It is also a road book that attempts to answer, for one father and son, a pivotal life question.
The story and the man behind the sourtoe cocktail in. Howard frank mosher, bestselling author of a stranger in the kingdom. Part memoir and part travelogue, the sourtoe cocktail club is an extraordinary odyssey that spans generations and miles, leading us through panama and texas and the yukon, through tears and laughter and the selfdiscovery of fathers and sons. In the 1920s, two outlaw brothers, louie and otto, were caught in a blizzard. In order to earn a membership into the sourtoe cocktail club, you must recite a pledge and take the drink, and the toe must touch your lips. How to join the sourtoe cocktail club dawson city yukon. Science explains why canadas human toe cocktail is mostly safe. Compare and book shore excursions for your next cruise. Dec 28, 2011 the sourtoe cocktail club is his new book that chronicles the adventure. But when the author and his teenage son embark on a road trip to the yukon to seek out a macabre cocktail containing an amputated human toe, they unwittingly begin a journey into their own past, present and future. Using a format reminiscent of your favorite book club, maureen christian petrosky highlights one specific spirit or drink type each month. A fatherandson love story set against epic backdrops and overlooked places after ron franscells divorce, he feared he was the continuing link in a. Before matt went off to college at university of nebraska in 2007, the pair decided to take a road trip from san antonio, texas, up to alaska.
The sourtoe cocktail club has all the makings of a great. An uncommon work, intimate and penetrating, and one in which. He came up with the idea of the sourtoe cocktail club an. The pickled toe was then used in drinks to initiate sourdoughs those who have experienced at least one winter in the yukon leading to the establishment of the sourtoe cocktail club in 1973. Ron franscell a fatherandson love story set against epic backdrops and overlooked places after ron franscells divorce, he feared he was the continuing link in a long chain of estranged fathers. No example showcases this tendency better than the dawson city tradition of the sourtoe cocktail. Ron franscell, author of the sourtoe cocktail club, with pickled toe. Using a format reminiscent of a book club, wine and cocktail expert maureen christian petrosky compiled this guide to appreciating and trying cocktails in a group setting. And thats author ron franscells goal in his latest book, in which he. The sourtoe cocktail is any drink of your choice, garnished with a real human toe thats been mummified and preserved in salt. Praise for sourtoe cocktail club seriously funny, earthily cosmic how does ron franscell do it. The rules for joining the sourtoe cocktail club are simple. Over 69,000 customers have tried the concoction, although one intentionally swallowed the toe in 20.
Sourtoe cocktail tradition the practice was established. The hotel has gained notoriety for its sourtoe cocktail. Who in their right mind would think it was possible to start a club by dropping a human toe in your drink. Yukon bar patron swallows famous sourtoe, pays fine, leaves. The first toe lasted only seven more years after its discovery. With a little bit of history and a lot of flavor, the cocktail club is a guide for connecting with your friends over the besttasting therapy aroundcocktails. The sourtoe cocktail history of captain dick good morning world. Jun 22, 2017 he filled out his sourtoe cocktail club certificate and left it behind, so they believe police will be able to track him down. This book contains a signature of one pierre trudeau.
A famed drink seasoned with an amputated toe, now on its tenth digit. Ron franscell the sourtoe cocktail club tattered cover. To become a member, one did not have to have all the riches or to win any sort of game one only needed to drink the sourtoe cocktail. He filled out his sourtoe cocktail club certificate and left it behind, so they believe police will be able to track him down.
Its a nearly im donating all 10 of my toes, plus another part of my body. Oct 03, 2019 using a format reminiscent of a book club, wine and cocktail expert maureen christian petrosky compiled this guide to appreciating and trying cocktails in a group setting. Cruise critic editor ashley kosciolek joins the sourtoe cocktail club. Throughout the 40year tradition, more than 100,000 people have joined the sourtoe cocktail club. Tasting the sourtoe cocktail in dawson city, yukon, on an alaska. The sourtoe cocktail club is a truelife love story about. When that happens, they become members of a very exclusive fraternity called the sourtoe cocktail club. The yukon odyssey of a father and son in search of a mummified human toe. A fatherandson love story set against epic backdrops and overlooked places after ron franscells divorce, he feared he was the continuing link in a long chain of. After conferring with friends, the sourtoe cocktail club was established and the rules developed. Ivan doig, author of this house of sky sourtoe is a splendid fatherandson odyssey into some of the very. Years later, while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by captain dick stevenson who then came up with the idea of the sourtoe cocktail club, an exclusive club with a membership requirement. Josh martin no relation to josh from new orleans has also tasted the wrinkly flesh of the sourtoe.
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