A package containing a severed toe normally is not the cause for celebration and relief.
But a bar in Canada is cheering after a key ingredient — a mummified human toe — was returned after the digit was reportedly stolen last week, according to the Canadian Press.
The Downtown Hotel is located in Dawson City, Yukon, is known for its “Sourtoe Cocktail” — a glass of whiskey that comes served with a severed big toe.
According to legend, a rum runner named Louie Liken had his frostbitten toe amputated in the 1920s and kept it preserved in a jar of alcohol. Fifty years later, a Yukon native found the preserved toe and took it to the Sourdough Saloon, where the bar began serving the toe in its cocktails. The Downtown Hotel continued the tradition before losing the toe on Saturday.
The hotel reported the toe stolen after a couple purchased the unique drink. The server left the couple unattended and when she came back, the toe was gone.
Police told the Canadian Press they received a phone call on Tuesday afternoon from a man who said he mailed the toe to the hotel and offered a verbal apology. The package arrived with the amputated toe along with a letter of apology on Thursday.
The Hotel had said there were “backup toes,” but “really needs this one back.” In 2013, the bar lost a toe when a patron swallowed the appendage whole along with his drink. The toe-eater immediately slapped the then-$500 fine on the table.
Per tradition, the toe must touch the drinker's lips to join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, according to the Canadian Press.
