Finally had row (was fond of the bottle) (5)
I believe the answer is:
drank
'fond of the bottle' is the definition.
'finally had row' is the wordplay.
'finally' suggests the final letters.
'row' becomes 'rank' (I've seen this before).
The final letter of 'had' is 'd'.
'd'+'rank'='DRANK'
'was' is the link.
(Other definitions for drank that I've seen before include "took a shot perhaps?" , "Sank" , "took a drop" , "Quaffed" , "Tippled" .)