Variable drink in university (4)
I believe the answer is:
yale
'university' is the definition.
(Yale university is an example)
'variable drink' is the wordplay.
'variable' becomes 'y' (I've seen this in other clues).
'drink' becomes 'ale' (ale is a kind of drink).
'y'+'ale'='YALE'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for yale that I've seen before include "Thief might gain entrance after picking this" , "Heraldic animal" , "Educational institution" , "member of College League" , "University; lock type" .)