A horse initially tried to drink (8)

I believe the answer is:

amaretto

'drink' is the definition.
(I know that amaretto is a type of drink)

'a horse initially tried to' is the wordplay.
'horse' becomes 'mare' (mare is a kind of horse).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'tried' is 't'.
'a'+'mare'+'t'+'to'='AMARETTO'

(Other definitions for amaretto that I've seen before include "Ma, rotate the almond liqueur" , "Italian almond liqueur" , "drink" , "Almond-flavoured liqueur" , "rink" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app