Unopened alcohol that is rum (5)
I believe the answer is:
eerie
'rum' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'unopened alcohol that' is the wordplay.
'unopened' means to remove the first letter (without opening letter).
'alcohol' becomes 'beer' (beer is a kind of alcohol).
'that' becomes 'ie' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'beer' with its first letter removed is 'eer'.
'eer'+'ie'='EERIE'
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for eerie that I've seen before include "Bloodcurdling" , "Frighteningly odd" , "Spooky, weird" , "Weird and disturbing" , "Strangely frightening" .)