Girl welcoming an alcoholic drink’s pungent taste (9)

I believe the answer is:

tanginess

'pungent taste' is the definition.
(tangy means having a strong taste)

'girl welcoming an alcoholic drink's' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'tess' (girl's name).
'welcoming' indicates putting letters inside (in sense of 'inviting in').
'alcoholic drink' becomes 'gin' (gin is an alcoholic spirit).
'an'+'gin'='angin'
'tess' enclosing 'angin' is 'TANGINESS'.

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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