Stingy swallowing cheapest empty drink (6)
I believe the answer is:
nectar
'drink' is the definition.
(I know that nectar is a type of drink)
'stingy swallowing cheapest empty' is the wordplay.
'stingy' becomes 'near' (I've seen this in another clue).
'swallowing' is an insertion indicator.
'empty' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'cheapest' with its centre taken out is 'ct'.
'near' going around 'ct' is 'NECTAR'.
(Other definitions for nectar that I've seen before include "Sweet fluid collected by bees" , "Source of honey" , "Beverage of the gods" , "Sweet fluid produced by flowers" , "Secretion collected by bees" .)