Cryptic crossword clue
US agents consuming beer and sport north of the border once 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word CALEDONIA

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
A
L
E
D
O
N
I
A

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "north of the border once" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case north of the border once = caledonia.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations