Crossword Genius

Pair consuming beer, two shakes and Italian port (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

palermo

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

'italian port' is the definition.
'palermo' can be an answer for 'port' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'italian' bit.

'pair consuming beer two shakes' is the wordplay.
'pair' becomes 'pr' (abbreviation).
'consuming' is an insertion indicator.
'beer' becomes 'ale' (type of beer).
'two shakes' becomes 'mo' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pr' placed around 'ale' is 'paler'.
'paler'+'mo'='PALERMO'

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for palermo that I've seen before include "ity of Italy" , "Sicilian city" , "Sicilian capital" , "Capital city of Sicily" , "Sicilian port" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent, The Sun and The Times.
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