Drink of character, by the sound of it (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'drink' is the definition.
(tea is a kind of drink)
'character by the sound of it' is the wordplay.
'character' becomes 't'.
'by the sound of it' shows a homophone (sound like).
't' sounds like 'TEA'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Assam, e.g." , "Light afternoon repast" , "Infused leaves" , "Meal/drink" , "Perhaps Indian" .)