How to Make an Herbal Tincture: 2 Easy Methods

Extracting and preserving the medicinal properties of a plant, tinctures turn a plant into an easy-to-take liquid medicine. In this post, I will be sharing two easy ways to make an herbal tincture, the first with alcohol, and the second with glycerin.

Method #1: Making an Alcohol Tincture

Alcohol tinctures are very simple and fast to make. They very efficiently extract and preserve the medicinal qualities of a plant. All you need is a jar, 80-100 proof alcohol such as vodka, and your herbs of choice.

Step 1: Fill a jar with the amount of herb specified in the chart below. You’ll need to use more plant matter if your herbs are fresh, less if they are dried; more if they are soft herbs such as leaves and flowers, less if you are using hard herbs such as roots, bark or seeds. You may want to use less of very strong herbs such as garlic and cayenne.

 

 

Step 2: Optionally, pour a small amount of hot water over the herbs in your jar. This softens the herbs, makes your project a little cheaper, and lowers the alcohol content of the finished product. The downside to adding water is that with the lower alcohol content, your tincture will not keep quite as long or be quite as potent as one made from straight 80 or 100 proof alcohol.

Step 3: Fill the jar to the top with alcohol, put the lid on and store in a dark place. Shake the jar 2-3 times each week.

Step 4: After 2-6 weeks, the tincture can be strained and used.

If you strain your tincture at 2 weeks, the herbs will still have quite a bit of potency left in them. You can cover the strained herbs with new alcohol and let sit for another 4 weeks to extract the rest of the medicinal properties.

If you let your tincture sit the full 6 weeks, all of the herbs’ beneficial properties will be extracted and you will have a much more potent tincture than the one strained after just 2 weeks,

Now you have a liquid herbal tincture, or extract.

 

Method #2: Making a Glycerine Tincture

A glycerine tincture is not as potent as one made with alcohol, but it’s sweet taste is perfect for children or anyone wanting to avoid alcohol. This method uses a crock pot, meaning it is finished and ready to use much faster.

 

Step 1: Fill a jar with herbs according to the chart above.

Step 2: Fill the jar 1/3 of the way with very hot water, covering the herbs. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Fill the jar the rest of the way with food-grade vegetable glycerin (You can find food grade glycerin at Azure Standard) and put the lid on.

Step 4: Place a cloth in the bottom of your crock pot. Set the jar on the cloth and fill the crock pot with water. Turn on the lowest “warm” setting for 3 days. If the water level starts getting low, turn the crock pot off and let it cool down before adding new water. NEVER pour water over a hot jar.

Step 5: After 3 days, your glycerin tincture is finished and can be strained and used.

 

Some of my herbs come from my own garden or are wildharvested. My favorite sources for dried herbs are Azure Standard and  www.mountainroseherbs.com.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Be sure to subscribe to our newletter to be the first to hear about our newest posts, and HAVE FUN tincturing!

-Kait