The French turned back in breakwater to get a drink (7)
I believe the answer is:
moselle
'a drink' is the definition.
(Moselle is an example)
'the french turned back in breakwater' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'les' (plural form of 'the' in French).
'turned back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'breakwater' becomes 'mole' (synonyms).
'les' in reverse letter order is 'sel'.
'sel' put inside 'mole' is 'MOSELLE'.
'to get' is the link.
(Other definitions for moselle that I've seen before include "Fr. river, department; German wine" , "French department" , "French or German white wine" , "Light white wine" , "River; white wine" .)