Criticism surrounding drinks farce (9)
I believe the answer is:
slapstick
'farce' is the definition.
(slapstick can mean farcical comedy)
'criticism surrounding drinks' is the wordplay.
'criticism' becomes 'stick' (giving someone stick is criticising them).
'surrounding' indicates putting letters inside.
'drinks' becomes 'laps' (lapping is a kind of drinking).
'stick' going around 'laps' is 'SLAPSTICK'.
(Other definitions for slapstick that I've seen before include "Physical form of comedy" , "That's laughable" , "Unsubtle comedy" , "Crude form of comedy" , "unsophisticated humour" .)