Sailor’s article about popular liqueur (8)
I believe the answer is:
absinthe
'liqueur' is the definition.
(absinthe is a kind of liqueur)
'sailor's article about popular' is the wordplay.
'sailor's' becomes 'ab's' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'article' becomes 'the' (the definite article in English).
'about' says to put letters next to each other.
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'the' after 'in' is 'inthe'.
'abs'+'inthe'='ABSINTHE'
(Other definitions for absinthe that I've seen before include "Liqueur originally containing wormwood" , "Strong liquour in the basin?" , "Aniseed flavoured liqueur" , "French liqueur" , "alcohol" .)