Cup in which to follow a dry cocktail with a half of beer (5)
I believe the answer is:
ryder
'cup in which to follow a' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'dry cocktail with a half of beer' is the wordplay.
'cocktail with' indicates an anagram.
'a half of' suggests halving the letters.
'beer' with half the letters taken is 'er'.
'dry' anagrammed with 'er' gives 'RYDER'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ryder that I've seen before include "The . . . . . Cup - international golf tournament won by Europe 2006" , "-- Cup, golf trophy" , "-- Cup, biennial golf tournament" , "sporting contest" .)