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To use the old footballing cliche, this was a "game of two halves" for me.

I fairly raced through the top half, with an easy anagram at 1a (although being a newish term, it doesn't appear in all anagram solvers) and another at 11a.

The only query I have in the top half is with the first three letters of 8d which, if I'm correct, are derived from "hot" - which I sort of see but not quite!

Then I faltered slightly at the spoonerism in 13d and didn't quite get the "preferred way to serve" part in 20a even though the answer is clear.

By the time I got to 18d I'd pretty much ground to a halt. Whenever I've seen "temperature dropping" in a clue before it's means to lower the T in the original definition to produce a second one - the problem I have with this clue is that, though I have an answer, I can't work out what the "pre-temperature dropping" word is:-( No doubt someone will enlighten me.

The SE corner then fell nicely into place with two very gettable 4 letter words and a long anagram.

Lastly my COD - 26a a quite superb clue with a smooth surface and historical accuracy to boot:-)

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18d: I agree. We have to drop the second letter in the synonym for dash hurriedly. But the clue does not say which letter should replace it.
20a: since the answer contains vodka, their main drink, I guess the clue is ok.

Hi Mathi,

My query with 20a is it says "way to serve" as opposed to "what to serve" which doesn't seem quite right.

18d - The only way I can get it to work is if the "temperature" is C not T and, as you say, where is the instruction telling us with what to replace it.

....unless it's C(old) and H(ot)...but I've got the H replacing the C, not the other way round - which would mean the "temperature" was rising not "dropping"?

Here C is the temperature. (I was surprised to see that it can also be spelled with a K!). Yes, the clue does not say which letter should replace it, though we can easily guess it.

Think C as Celsius.

Hi, I’ve not quite finished and I should probably go to bed at this point, but I think the Nicolas II reference is to the ***** Movement during the civil war in said country (where ***** is the first word of the answer), trying not to give it away ;) Though I’m no expert on that particular history it has to be said.

Hi Jono,

You could be right, it would mean the setter required us to have quite a high degree of knowledge in relation to the said revolution.

In 18d I have H -> C, temperature dropping, to give the answer

I think 19d is my COD, as dd’s go it’s rather good