A drink and a kiss, nominally (4)

I believe the answer is:

alex

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a drink and a kiss nominally' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'a drink and a kiss' is the wordplay.
'a drink' becomes 'ale' (type of beer).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'a kiss' becomes 'x' (X can represent a kiss).
'ale'+'x'='ALEX'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for alex that I've seen is " Sandy".)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app