Dead Men Don’t Ski and The Black Manhattan

Kerry Hammond is here to pair a book with a cold setting to a drink that will warm you up.

Dead Men Don’t Ski by Patricia Moyes is the first book in the Inspector Tibbett series. The series, which Moyes started writing in 1959, continued through 19 books and ended in 1993. I usually spend the month of December reading Christmas themed books or ones set in snowy places and this book was a perfect addition to this year’s reads.

Inspector Henry Tibbett has been asked by the powers that be to take a ski holiday, with his wife in tow, to keep an eye out for any strange happenings. The location is a mountain town in Italy and the others guests they meet are extremely interesting. When a dead body is found traveling down on the ski lift, Henry must take a second look at his fellow travelers, this time wondering if any of them are capable of murder.

I love the story, the setting, and the characters. Everything was reminiscent of the classic mysteries I love to read: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Dorothy Sayers. Tibbett is a very likeable and competent detective, he keeps a level head and avoids making snap judgments—unlike the Italian Detective he is working with.  

I paired the book with a Black Manhattan, a variation of the popular Manhattan that uses Averna instead of vermouth. It’s a great drink for apres ski, or anytime it’s cold outside.

2 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. Averna
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Regans’ Orange Bitters No. 6

Cocktail cherry

Stir well with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a cocktail cherry.