Little drinks go round after characters have turned up (4)
I believe the answer is:
nips
'little drinks' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'go round after characters have turned up' is the wordplay.
'go round' becomes 'spin' (I've seen this before).
'after characters have turned up' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, letters go up).
'spin' backwards is 'NIPS'.
(Other definitions for nips that I've seen before include "Pinches as crab does" , "Pinches - in the bud?" , "Pinches - shots" , "Takes" , "Squeezes tightly between the fingers" .)