How to Make a Tincture at Home: A Simple DIY Guide

A tincture is a herb soaked in alcohol until the alcohol has pulled out what the herb has to offer. The plant matter gets strained off, and what's left is a small amount of strong liquid you take by the dropper. It's one of the oldest ways to preserve a herb, and you can make one at home with a jar and a few weeks of patience, or with a botanical infuser in an afternoon.

This guide covers what a tincture is, how much herb and what strength of alcohol to use, both ways to make one, and how to use, label and store it.

What is a tincture?

A tincture is a liquid extract made by soaking a herb in a solvent. Herbalists call that liquid the menstruum, and the soaking itself maceration. The classic solvent is alcohol. It draws out both the parts of a plant that dissolve in water and the parts that only dissolve in alcohol, and it preserves the result, so a well-made tincture keeps for years.

There are two alcohol-free options too. Vegetable glycerin gives a sweet, mild extract often called a glycerite. Apple cider vinegar gives a tangy one that works well in dressings and drinks. Neither keeps as long as an alcohol tincture.

Tinctures have a long history. Herbal tinctures appear in Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, written in 1025, and alcohol extracts were a standard way of preparing plants for centuries after that.

Tincture vs extract vs infusion

The words get mixed up, so here's the plain version:

• Tincture: a herb steeped in alcohol (or glycerin or vinegar), then strained.
• Infusion: a herb steeped in a fat or water, like an infused oil, infused butter or a tea. If that's what you're after, see our guide to making herb-infused oil.
• Extract: the broad term for anything that pulls compounds out of a plant. A tincture is one kind of extract.

Good herbs to start with

Almost any culinary or garden herb that's safe to eat can be tinctured. Common starting points are chamomile, lemon balm, peppermint, ginger, rosemary, lavender, calendula and elderberry. Start with one herb per jar. You can always blend finished tinctures later.

What you need

• Herbs. Dried herbs are easier for a first batch and give a more stable tincture, because fresh herbs carry water into the jar. There's more on that in fresh vs dried herbs.
• Alcohol (or glycerin or apple cider vinegar). See the next section for which strength to use.
• A clean glass jar with a tight lid, for the jar method, or a botanical infuser for the fast method.
• A strainer: a fine mesh bag or cheesecloth.
• Dark glass bottles with droppers for storage, such as our glass dropper jars, and labels.

Some herbs need to be decarboxylated before they go into a tincture. If yours does, do that first. Our Decarboxylator Machine does it at a set temperature, so there's no guessing with the oven.

Which alcohol, and how strong

For the jar method, stronger isn't always better. Match the strength to the herb:

• 40 to 50% alcohol (80 to 100 proof), such as vodka: the standard choice, and right for most dried herbs and leafy fresh herbs.
• About 70% alcohol: for juicy fresh herbs, fresh berries and aromatic roots, which bring a lot of their own water. Mix equal parts 80-proof vodka and a high-proof grain spirit.
• Around 95% alcohol: only for gums and resins. On ordinary herbs it can dry the plant out and makes a harsh tincture.

Use a neutral spirit so the herb's own flavour comes through. Never use rubbing alcohol or any non-food alcohol.

The botanical infuser method is the exception: the ONGROK owner's manual calls for a high-proof grain alcohol (151 or 190 proof) or vegetable glycerin, because the short, warm cycle needs a stronger solvent to do in hours what a jar does in weeks.

How much herb to use

The simple way, called the folk method, is to fill the jar part of the way with herb and top it up with alcohol. Dried herbs and roots swell, so they get less space:

Herb	Fill the jar with herb
Fresh leaves and flowers	2/3 to 3/4 full
Dried leaves and flowers	About 1/2 full
Fresh roots, bark and berries	1/3 to 1/2 full
Dried roots, bark and berries	About 1/4 to 1/3 full

If you'd rather measure, herbalists often work by weight to volume: about 1 part fresh herb to 2 parts alcohol, or 1 part dried herb to 5 parts alcohol. For example, 20 g of dried chamomile to 100 ml of vodka.

Method 1: the folk method in a jar (6 to 8 weeks)

1. Fill the jar with herb to the level in the table above. Chop fresh herbs first to expose more surface.
2. Cover with alcohol. Pour it in until the herbs are completely covered, with a little extra on top. Herbs that stick out of the liquid can grow mould.
3. Seal it. Strong alcohol and aromatic herbs can soften some plastics, so use a metal lid with a piece of parchment underneath, or a glass lid.
4. Check it after a day or two. Dried herbs and roots soak up liquid and swell. Top up the alcohol so everything stays submerged.
5. Store it somewhere cool and dark and shake it a few times a week.
6. Wait six to eight weeks, then strain through a fine mesh bag or cheesecloth, squeezing out as much liquid as you can.
7. Bottle and label it in dark glass.

Method 2: with a botanical infuser (4 hours)

A botanical infuser holds a steady, low temperature and stirs the herbs for you, which does in hours what the jar does in weeks. These are the settings from the ONGROK Botanical Infuser owner's manual:

1. Load the herbs into the infuser.
2. Add at least 2 cups of high-proof alcohol or vegetable glycerin. If you're using glycerin, add half a tablespoon of lecithin to help it bind.
3. Set the temperature to 130°F (55°C) and press the 4-hour (Tincture) button. For a stronger tincture, choose 8 hours instead.
4. Strain through the filter bag into dark glass bottles. The full-size infuser kit includes a fine 73-micron bag, which is the one to use for tinctures.

Safety first: high-proof alcohol is flammable. Run the infuser well away from any open flame, gas stove or propane burner, in a room with some airflow.

Both the Small Botanical Infuser and the full-size Botanical Infuser have the same tincture setting. The small one takes up to 2 1/2 cups, the full-size one up to 5.

How to label a tincture

Label every bottle the day you strain it. Don't count on remembering, and never identify a tincture by smell or taste. Include:

• The herb, and the part used (leaf, flower, root)
• Fresh or dried
• The liquid and its strength, for example "vodka, 40%" or "glycerin"
• The date you started it and the date you strained it

How to use a tincture

Tinctures are strong, so you only need a few drops at a time. There are two common ways to take one:

• Under the tongue. Place the drops under your tongue and hold them there for about 30 seconds before swallowing.
• In a drink or food. Stir a few drops into tea, water, juice or a dressing. Taken this way it goes through your digestive system first, so it takes longer to notice.

Start with a small amount, especially with a tincture you haven't made before. You can always take more; you can't take less.

Can you cook with a tincture?

Yes, but add it at the end. High heat drives off the alcohol and can weaken what's in the tincture, so stir it into a sauce, dressing or drink after cooking rather than boiling it. For baking and cooking, an infused butter or oil is usually the better tool.

How to store a tincture, and how long it lasts

Keep it in dark glass, tightly closed, somewhere cool and out of the sun. Light and heat are what break a tincture down.

• Alcohol tincture: keeps for years. The infuser manual says indefinitely.
• Glycerin tincture: best used within about a year.
• Vinegar extract: best kept in the fridge and used within several months.

Safety

• Know your plant. Only tincture herbs you've identified with certainty and know are safe to eat. Some plants have toxic look-alikes or toxic parts.
• Check before you take one if you're pregnant, nursing, or on any medication. Herbs can interact with medicines, so ask your pharmacist or doctor.
• Not for children. An alcohol tincture is a strong spirit. Store it out of reach, the same way you would a bottle of liquor.
• Keep everything clean. Use clean jars and keep the herbs under the liquid so nothing spoils.

Common questions

What alcohol is best for a tincture? For the jar method, 80 to 100 proof (40 to 50%) vodka for most herbs. Juicy fresh herbs and roots do better at about 70%. For the infuser, use the high-proof alcohol the manual calls for.

Can I make a tincture without alcohol? Yes. Use food-grade vegetable glycerin or apple cider vinegar. Both are milder and don't keep as long.

How much herb do I need? Fill a jar about halfway with dried leaves or flowers, or 2/3 to 3/4 with fresh ones, then cover with alcohol. By weight, about 1 part dried herb to 5 parts alcohol.

How long does a homemade tincture take? Six to eight weeks in a jar, or 4 to 8 hours in a botanical infuser.

Can you mix different tinctures together? Yes. The simplest way is to make each herb as its own tincture, then blend the finished tinctures in a bottle. Keep blends simple, and label what's in them.

What temperature do you make a tincture at in an infuser? 130°F (55°C) on the Tincture setting, for 4 hours, or 8 hours for a stronger result.

How long does a tincture last? An alcohol tincture stored in dark glass keeps for years. Use a glycerin version within about a year, and a vinegar one within several months.

Do you ship across Canada? Yes. We ship anywhere in Canada by Canada Post or UPS. The shipping cost is shown at checkout.