Spirit primarily cordial in houses backing onto one another (5)
I believe the answer is:
hooch
'spirit' is the definition.
(I know that hooch is a type of spirit)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
(Other definitions for hooch that I've seen before include "Illicitly distilled spirit" , "Illicit whisky" , "alcoholic drink" , "Strong illicit liquor" , "Illicit spirits" .)