Final candidates keel over after strong drink (9)
I believe the answer is:
shortlist
'final candidates' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'keel over after strong drink' is the wordplay.
'keel over' becomes 'list' (list can mean to tilt or keel over).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'strong drink' becomes 'short'.
'list' after 'short' is 'SHORTLIST'.
(Other definitions for shortlist that I've seen before include "Final candidates" , "Ko-Ko had" , "suitable candidates" , "Reduced size of field" .)