Tincture Making

How to Make a Tincture
Making a tincture is really easy and fun. All you need are:
  • Your herb of choice (organic is always best)
  • 80 or 100 proof distilled grain alcohol (Vodka)** You can use 80 proof for dry herb and 100 proof for fresh herb.
  • 1 liter mason jar
  • Finely woven cotton cheese cloth
  • Rubber bands
  • A medium size funnel
  • A dark brown 500ml bottle and a few smaller brown dropper bottles to store your tincture when it's done
**(Never use rubbing alcohol to make a tincture. Only use the kind of alcohol that is ingestible and make sure it is 40 to 50 percent alcohol, or 80 to 100 proof. )

Tincture Making For Single Ingredient Dry Herbs
Dry herbs are really easy to use when making herbal medicine because they are available year round and can be stored easily. To get started, follow these instructions:

  1. Measure out your herb of choice and put it into the mason jar. It should take up about a quarter of the jar.
  2. Pour 80 or 100 poof Vodka slowly over the herbs, covering the herbs with about 2 cups of alcohol. (In this case, since you're using dry herbs and not fresh, 80 proof Vodka would be fine to use because there is less of a chance that you will have any funky molds growing in the jar. The alcohol is strong enough to kill it off.)
  3. Close the jar and give it a good shake to let the elements come together.
  4. Store jar in a cool dark place or in a brown paper bag away from sunlight.
  5. Give it a shake daily for about 4-6 weeks to disperse the materials.**
  6. After the 4-6 week period, drain the contents into a large glass measuring cup by placing a tight knitted piece of cheese cloth over the mouth of the jar and secure it with a rubber band so none of the plant material escapes
  7. Funnel the liquid into dark bottles to store (I use a large bottle for storage and smaller dropper bottles to carry around with me. I fill up the smaller bottle every time it empties out.)

** Make sure you shake your jar daily in order to get the best quality product and keep it in a dark place. To make things a bit easier, keep the jar on the kitchen counter in a brown paper bag, so you're reminded to give it a shake whenever you see it.

Tincture Making For Single Ingredient Fresh Herbs
Fresh herbs are possibly the best ingredient to tincture but they are not always available year round, so you should take advantage of them when they appear! Be sure to collect organic ingredients if you're going to make a fresh tincture.

  1. Chop up into small pieces and loosely place the fresh herb so that it's about 75% filled, almost reaching the top of the jar.
  2. Pour 100 poof Vodka slowly over the herbs, making sure you cover the herbs completely. You don't want to leave anything sticking out of the alcohol. (In this case, since you're using fresh herb, you want to use 100 proof Vodka to prevent  any funky molds from growing in the jar.)
  3. Close the jar and give it a good shake to integrate the elements.
  4. Store jar in a cool dark place or in a brown paper bag away from sunlight.
  5. Give it a shake daily for about 4-6 weeks to disperse the materials.**
  6.  After the 4-6 week period, drain the contents into a large glass measuring cup by placing a tight knitted piece of cheese cloth over the mouth of the jar and secure it with a rubber band so none of the plant material escapes
  7. Funnel the liquid into dark bottles to store (I use a large bottle for storage and smaller dropper bottles to carry around with me. I fill up the smaller bottle every time it empties out.)

** Make sure you shake your jar daily in order to get the best quality product and keep it in a dark place. To make things a bit easier, keep the jar on the kitchen counter in a brown paper bag, so you're reminded to give it a shake whenever you see it.

Some Recipes For Tinctures