Soon, all of him will be toe-gether again.
When Nick Griffiths lost his big toe to frostbite in February last year, he gave it a second life — as a morbid cocktail. This June, the British man donated his detached digit to a bar in Canada, which has a decades-long tradition of serving a whiskey shot garnished with a dehydrated human toe.
Next week, Griffiths will reunite with his severed appendage, taking the inaugural sip of his very own toe tipple.
The legendary $5 drink, called the Sourtoe Cocktail, has been served at Yukon’s Downtown Hotel since 1973. Drinkers must touch their lips to the toe to earn a certificate of completion. To date, more than 90,000 have.
The titular toe of the Sourtoe is so sought-after that it frequently gets stolen (and sometimes returned) — hence the bar’s need for Griffiths’ toe. He saw a “Toe Wanted” poster from the hotel shortly after losing his own to frostbite during the Yukon Arctic ultramarathon and mailed in the specimen.
The hotel was delighted.
“We have been without a big toe for some time, so his generous toe-nation will help ensure the tradition continues,” says the hotel’s general manager, Adam Gerle, in a statement.
Also over the moon about the fresh toe was Terry “Toe Master” Lee, who is in charge of preserving the toes used in the drink. He quickly got to work on Griffiths’ digit to make it garnish-ready.
“It takes six weeks to mummify a new toe on rock salt before it’s ready to serve,” Lee says. It is now ready, but he wants Griffiths to take the inaugural shot.
“We have been waiting for Nick to be first to do a shot with the new toe and make it extra special,” Lee says, adding, “Nick’s big toe is a beauty.”
The reunion will be a happy one for Griffiths.
“I am excited to be returning to the Yukon and reuniting with my detached digit,” Griffiths says.
The tourist board of the Canadian territory has footed the bill for Griffiths’ flight from Manchester, England, for the sake of his “toe ceremony,” which will take place at the Downtown Hotel on Monday.
“Doing the Sourtoe Cocktail with my own big toe will be a memory I will take to the grave,” Griffiths says.
