Yep, This Exists: Cocktails Made With Human Toes Gaining More Attention

Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to report on the craziest cocktail trend out there: the Sourtoe cocktail, made with a preserved human toe. 

We thought it was a Halloween prank, too, but it's a real thing: in Dawson City in Canada's Yukon Territory sits the famous Downtown Hotel's Sourdough Saloon, where a real gold rush is happening. And while the town is getting swarmed by the thousands, others are crowding into the bar to try the Sourtoe cocktail — so much so that the Sourtoe Cocktail Club has upward of 100,000 members. 

The Sourtoe cocktail was first made back in 1973, thanks to the riverboat captain Dick "River Rat" Stevenson. He was the one to find the severed big toe, preserved in a pickle jar, in a cabin outside of the city. Stevenson was also the one to make the rules: the toe, no matter what drink it's in (whether beer, champagne, or a cocktail) must touch your lips to count. We'll give you a second to process that one. But hey, it's only $5. 

The Health Board of Yukon says it's safe because the toes are pickled in medicinal alcohol and packed in dry salts (there are multiple toes in rotation, as the first one was swallowed after about 725 drinks. Again, process that one). But that doesn't mean it's without its gross factor.  Dick Van Nostrand, manager at the Downtown Hotel, told the WSJ that he's seen many a drinker throw up after trying the concoction. Can't possibly imagine why, but hey — it's a legendary drink.