Smell said to rival strong spirit (3,2,3)
I believe the answer is:
eau de vie
'strong spirit' is the definition.
(type of brandy, an alcoholic spirit)
'smell said to rival' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'rival' could be 'vie' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'vie' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Other definitions for eau de vie that I've seen before include "French spirits, especially brandy" , "Water of life, like brandy" , "Water of life or brandy - in France" , "Liquor" .)