Medicinal root in spirits (English) (7)
I believe the answer is:
ginseng
'medicinal root' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'spirits english' is the wordplay.
'spirits' becomes 'gins' (gin is an alcoholic spirit).
'english' becomes 'eng' (abbreviation).
'gins'+'eng'='GINSENG'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for ginseng that I've seen before include "Restorative root" , "Tuber with tonic effect" , "Tuber used as tonic" , "Aromatic root with medicinal powers" , "Root used in Chinese medicine" .)