Tortuous anagram at first crushes the spirit (8)
I believe the answer is:
armagnac
'the spirit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'tortuous anagram at first crushes' is the wordplay.
'tortuous' indicates anagramming the letters.
'at' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'first crushes' becomes 'c' (1st letter of 'crushes').
'anagram' is an anagram of 'armagna'.
'armagna'+'c'='ARMAGNAC'
(Other definitions for armagnac that I've seen before include "Variety of brandy distilled in district of Gascony SW France" , "Liquor" , "Brandy traditionally made in Aquitaine" , "Kind of brandy" , "stronger drink than ale" .)