The gold rush town famous for its severed toe cocktail

There’s a toe on the bar of the Sourdough Saloon. It’s long dead, dry and black with a faint yellow tinge to the nail, and it’s resting in a shallow pile of rock salt beside a tumbler filled with tequila. Soon, it’ll be dropped into my drink.

I’m sitting on a padded bar stool in the Downtown Hotel in Dawson, 280 miles south of the Arctic Circle in the northern Yukon Territory, Canada. Above me, framed by aging red and gold wallpaper, is a photograph of Dick Stevenson, the creator of the Klondike’s infamous Sourtoe Cocktail.

The rosy-faced former riverboat captain is grinning lopsidedly through his greying beard, pouring the contents of a half-empty bottle of Yukon Jack into a small cocktail glass. His gaze is uneven beneath his peaked cap, presumably the result of the Jack, and directed towards the enormous toe-shaped ceramic urn displayed on a shelf beside him.

Margo, a red-haired bartender in her twenties, finishes scratching my name into the cocktail's logbook. She plants an elbow on the bar, deftly plucks the preserved toe from the salt and hovers her hand over my drink. Her brow furrows as she recites the rules: “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the gnarled toe”. With every syllable, she gestures towards me with the dismembered digit, as if using it to cast a spell.

Outside, Dawson has the kind of derelict beauty of an abandoned theme park. Back in 1898 this town was the crucible for the Klondike Gold Rush, when 100,000 recession-hit prospectors struck out into the wilds of northern Canada for the rumoured riches of Bonanza Creek. Around 30,000 made it, transforming the area from swampy moose pasture to raucous backcountry outpost to the “Paris of the North” with the hard-won spoils of the goldfields.

Today, Dawson retains the time-capsule charm of a true frontier town, save for the tourists, artists and free spirits who’ve moved in for the adventure of it all. Visitors pan for gold in the rivers and explore the remnants of former dredges, at the same time that miners work the hills still dusted with staked claims. On the outskirts rest the skeletal remains of paddlewheel boats, memorials to a time when the water was the only way to get around.

Downtown there are no concrete sidewalks, only boardwalks that squeak underfoot and rutted dirt streets flanking wood-framed homes. Many of them, like the Kissing Buildings on Third Avenue, have developed a noticeable lean after decades spent on the shifting permafrost. Though it’s said the saloons can help: the more you drink, the more the buildings seem to straighten out.

Back in the Sourdough, the toe hits the bottom of my glass and I stifle a retch: this is the first time I’ve looked at it properly. It’s curling upwards, joints permanently stiff, dismembered end just breaking the surface of the honey-coloured liquid. I wonder whose toe it is, for there have been a few over the years. One arrived in a jar with a note that read: “Don’t wear open-toe sandals while mowing the lawn”.

But it’s a dare from Captain Dick that I’m reluctant to refuse. Kissing the Sour Toe is the shortcut to becoming an honorary Sourdough, a title typically reserved for the tough year-round residents of Dawson, who weather winter temperatures as low as -60°C and bear a striking resemblance to the characters in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. On the outskirts, there are even rumours of a man who lives in a cave.

Eager to join their ranks, with spirits at least, I pick up the cocktail and quickly knock the glass back without looking at its contents. The gnarled toe gently prods my lip like a warm ice cube. In Dawson, I’ve stood on the edge of the Arctic wilderness and experienced the north of old – and only risked a toe in the saloon.

Getting there

You can fly to Whitehorse with Air Canada, and then take an internal flight to Dawson’s tiny airport with Air North. Check with your hotel whether they provide a shuttle service, as you’ll land around 17km out of town.

Alternatively, catch the Husky Bus or rent a car from Driving Force in Whitehorse, and drive approximately six hours north to Dawson on the scenic Klondike Highway. If you’re planning on hitting the road solo in winter, make sure you follow the necessary precautions.

What to do

In town, Diamond Tooth Gertie’s is Canada’s oldest gambling hall, with the added bonus of thrice-weekly cancan shows from May to September. Whatever you lose in the casino is reinvested into the community.

If you’re keen to learn more about Dawson’s history, make sure you book one of Klondike Experience’s highly informative bus tours, which will whisk you out into the goldfields. Alternatively, pick up the self-guided walking tour around town from the Visitor Information Centre.

Of all the sights on the goldfields, the eight-storey Dredge No. 4 is perhaps the most famous, a remarkable feat of engineering responsible for the piles of gravel tailings still scattered across the Klondike. Take a peek inside with Goldbottom Tours.

Finally, don’t miss visiting the cabins of White Fang author Jack London and “Bard of the Yukon” Robert Service, now converted into fascinating museums. Note that London’s is a reconstruction using half of the original logs – the rest were used to build a similar cabin in California, where he lived.

Where to stay

You won’t find many luxury hotels in Dawson City, but they all have heaps of turn-of-the-century charm. Some still claim to accept payments in gold.

The red-and-white Gold Rush-era façade of the Downtown Hotel is one of Dawson City’s most recognisable landmarks. Inside you’ll find 59 cozy rooms as well as the Sourdough Saloon, the home of the Klondike’s most controversial cocktail.

Bombay Peggy's is filled to the brim with antique furnishings, and is based in the Yukon’s only restored brothel. The adjoining pub is one of Dawson’s most popular saloons.

Where to eat

Joe’s Wood-Fired Pizza is a Dawson institution, specialising in thin-crust pizzas cooked fresh in a wood oven. Wash yours down like a true Yukoner with one of the locally brewed beers.

One of the most popular restaurants in town, the Drunken Goat Taverna cooks up hearty portions of authentic Greek food. Make sure you book ahead, as this place fills up fast.

The pretty Alchemy Café serves beautifully fresh vegetarian fare alongside a range of Beans North coffee. Also look out for the events in everything from meditation to moccasin-making.

More information

For more on the Yukon, visit Travel Yukon or Destination Canada.