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What alcohol do you use for tinctures?
Commercial herbal tinctures often use a pure alcohol solvent made from corn, grape, wheat, or cane and distilled at or above 190 proof. Herbalists sometimes make herbal tinctures in small batches using vodka (80 to 100 proof).
What proof alcohol do you need for tinctures?
A few things to note before you make a tincture: requires only 60% alcohol. Of course, you can still use 90% alcohol, but if you want to be thrifty, you can dilute it 30% with distilled water and be confident you’re extracting the therapeutic constituents. Alcohol over 75% will extract constituents quicker.
Can Everclear be used for tinctures?
80 proof would be 40% alcohol and 60% water. In the US and in some Canadian provinces Everclear is available and is the preferred alcohol to use when making tinctures using fresh plant material. Everclear is 190 proof or 95% alcohol. Tinctures made with Everclear will last indefinitely.
Can I use 100 proof vodka for tinctures?
A note on alcohol: 100 proof vodka is the optimal spirit to use for tinctures, because it is clear, fairly inexpensive, and exactly 1/2 water and 1/2 alcohol. When moving out of the ‘folk’ method and into ratios, many tincture recipes will provide instructions for a 50% tincture, which is half water and half alcohol.
What happens to the alcohol in a tincture?
Alcohol-based tinctures are extremely fast-acting, because alcohol can enter our bloodstream very quickly. Our tongue and cheeks contain lots of capillaries which quickly absorb the alcohol. This means that when we place some drops under our tongue, we’re not actually digesting the extract.
What kind of liquor do you use for tincture?
You can use any other type of liquor you want as well. It needs to be at least 50 proof (25% alcohol) to preserve the tincture. The highest number of chemicals will be extracted at 80-100 proof (with the exception of the the highly oily/resinous plants). When in doubt, use vodka.
Are there any herbal tinctures that last long?
The medicinal properties of the herbs in the alcohol tincture can start their amazing work right away! Tinctures are very well preserved. Tinctures based in alcohol last a LONG time. Seriously. Years! There have been instances where old tinctures have been found that are decades old and are still useful (those made with alcohol, that is).
What kind of solvent do you use to make herbal tinctures?
Alcohol must be the solvent used to extract the herbal properties. If you are using vinegar, glycerine, only water (water used to dilute alcohol is fine), or any menstruum (solvent) other than alcohol, your preparation is an extract, but it is not a tincture.
Which is stronger an alcohol tincture or a glycerine tincture?
The strong taste is largely due to the amount of herb that has been drawn into the liquid, and alcohol draws out more herbal properties than anything else. While you can make tinctures out of vinegar or glycerin, they will not be as strong and neither will not have the same extended shelf life as an alcohol tinctured herb.