Tourist dies trying to drink all 21 cocktails on bar menu

A tourist holidaying in Jamaica has died after attempting to drink all 21 cocktails on a bar’s drinks menu, an inquest has heard.

A British man on holiday with his family in Jamaica died after attempting to partake in a challenge that involved drinking all 21 cocktails featured on a bar’s menu.

Timothy Southern, 53, from Staffordshire in England’s West Midlands, had finished 12 of the menu’s various cocktails when he returned to his hotel room at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean in Saint Ann, where he later died, ITV News and the New York Post reported.

A pathologist in Kingston said Mr Southern’s cause of death was “acute gastroenteritis due to alcohol consumption”.

Staffordshire-area coroner Emma Serrano ruled his death was alcohol-related, the outlet reported.

British tourist Timothy Southern had consumed 12 of the 21 cocktails on the menu before he died. Picture: GoFundMe

An initial investigation into Mr Southern’s death found that he had been drinking brandy and beer throughout the morning.

At some point during the day, Mr Southern met two Canadian women celebrating a birthday.

The women told him they were trying to complete the 21-cocktail challenge before midnight as part of their festivities.

It was not immediately clear how quickly Mr Southern consumed the 12 cocktails.

A menu from the bar in Saint Ann in 2018. Picture: TripAdvisor

His family members — who were on the trip with him — said they tried in vain to help him.

“He was on his back choking. I put him in the recovery position and screamed for an ambulance. He was making a gurgling sound. As soon as he was in the recovery position, he vomited. I was shouting his name with no response,” one of his family members told authorities.

The family has since expressed outrage and dissatisfaction with the emergency crews who tried to save him in his hotel, claiming they were unprepared to effectively take care of him.

He had been drinking at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean. Picture: TripAdvisor

“When the nurse arrived, I said had an ambulance been called and she said ‘no.’ I thought she would take over. But that was not the case. I noticed he was starting to lose temperature. I checked his pulse and couldn’t find it,” the relative said.

“She said he had a pulse. I was starting to lose it. I got a full look at his face and I thought he had passed away.”

The relative claimed that the nurse was not adequately trained in providing lifesaving measures.

“I said, ‘Don’t just sit there looking at him, start CPR.’ She only gave him chest compressions. Maybe if she had known what she was doing, maybe he would still be here.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission