Character of gin, say (6)
I believe the answer is:
spirit
'character' is the definition.
(spirit is a kind of character)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spirit that I've seen before include "25 28 [MARS LANDER]" , "Courage, energy" , "Ghost - pluck" , "essence" , "Vivacity" .)