Mastering Tinctures
Spirit, Time, and Potency
Essential Equipment
- ✓ Glass Jars with tight lids
- ✓ High-proof Spirit (Vodka/Brandy)
- ✓ Cheesecloth
- ✓ Amber dropper bottles
The Process
Chop fresh herbs or grind dried ones. Fill a jar 1/2 full with dried herbs or 3/4 full with fresh.
Cover completely with 40-50% alcohol (80-100 proof). Ensure alcohol is 1 inch above herbs.
Seal tight. Store in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks. Shake daily.
Strain through cheesecloth, squeezing out every drop. Bottle and label.
Formulary: Tincture Recipes
St. John's Wort Tincture
A potent, traditional herbal extract used to deeply support the nervous system. This tincture is highly regarded for helping to alleviate the emotional and physical symptoms associated with menopause, easing the transition naturally.
Old Man's Salve
A gentle, antibiotic ointment for cuts, scrapes, and fungal spots. Usnea has been used as a wound dressing for combat for centuries due to its high usnic acid content.
Forest Lungs Tincture
A specialized double-extraction method is required for Usnea. Alcohol extracts the antibiotic properties (usnic acid), while water extracts the immune-boosting polysaccharides. This potent dual-tincture captures both.
Winter's Shield Tincture
A potent immune-boosting elixir combining Elderberry and Echinacea. Take at the very first sign of a scratchy throat.
Silymarin Tincture
A potent alcohol extract concentrating the silymarin content for long-term protection.
Feverfew Relief
Named for its ability to reduce fever, but now famous for preventing migraines. Best taken daily as a preventative by sufferers.
Ashwagandha Adaptogen
Builds resilience to long-term stress. Unlike stimulants, it gives energy by nourishing the adrenals rather than depleting them.
Immortal Mushroom (Reishi)
Reishi is the mushroom of longevity. This requires a "Double Extraction" (Alcohol + Water) to get both the triterpenes and the polysaccharides.
Lymph Mover (Cleavers)
Cleavers gets "stuck" fluids moving. Perfect for swollen glands, edema, or a sluggish immune system.
Clear Skin (Burdock & Yellow Dock)
An "alterative" formula that cleanses the blood and improves liver function to clear chronic skin conditions like acne or eczema from the inside out.
Black Cohosh Root
The primary remedy for menopausal hot flashes and spasmodic cramping (menstrual or muscle).
Sunshine in a Bottle (St. Johns Wort)
Famous for treating mild to moderate depression. The fresh flowers turn the alcohol a stunning blood-red color, indicating the presence of hypericin.
California Poppy Pain Ease
A gentle cousin to the opium poppy, but non-addictive. It helps with physical pain that prevents sleep and quiets endless mental chatter.
Lion Heart (Motherwort)
Motherwort is "like a mother’s hug in a bottle". It specifically targets anxiety that is held in the chest/heart or associated with hormonal shifts.
Skullcap Chill Drops
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) is a trophorestorative for the nervous system. It cools down "hot" anxiety, agitation, and sensory overload.
Dandelion Liver Bitters
A simple bitter tonic to take before heavy meals to stimulate bile and digestion.
Yarrow Wound Tincture
Known as "Soldiers Woundwort", Yarrow stops bleeding and fights infection topically or internally for fevers.
Echinacea Immune Boost
A classic winter onset powerhouse. Echinacea stimulates the immune system to fight off initial viral loads.
Digestive Bitters
A classic bitter tonic to stimulate healthy digestion and liver function.