Sailors in the drink (8)
I believe the answer is:
absinthe
'drink' is the definition.
(absinthe is a kind of drink)
'sailor's in the' is the wordplay.
'sailor's' becomes 'ab's' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'abs'+'in'+'the'='ABSINTHE'
(Other definitions for absinthe that I've seen before include "Aniseed flavoured liqueur" , "Green liqueur flavoured with wormwood and anise" , "Liqueur - the basin (anag)" , "Green aniseed liqueur" , "Potent green gin-type liquor - wormwood" .)