Before I put in the liqueur (8)
I believe the answer is:
anisette
'the liqueur' is the definition.
(anisette is a kind of liqueur)
'before i put in' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'ante' (I've seen this in other clues).
'put' becomes 'set' (both can mean to place or position).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'i'+'set'='iset'
'ante' placed around 'iset' is 'ANISETTE'.
(Other definitions for anisette that I've seen before include "[APERITIF]" , "Liqueur with flavour of liquorice" , "Liquorice-flavoured liqueur" , "Strong-flavoured liqueur" , "alcoholic drink" .)