Cryptic crossword clue
Essence of detective headquarters to contain trouble 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word DISTILLATION

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
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S
T
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Essence" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case essence = distillation.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does DISTILLATION mean?

DISTILLATION noun
  1. The act of falling in drops, or the act of pouring out in drops.
  2. That which falls in drops.
  3. (chemical engineering) The separation of more volatile parts of a substance from less volatile ones by evaporation and condensation.
  4. The substance extracted by distilling.

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