Whether you’re totally new to Cannabis or you’re looking for ways to cut down or quit smoking altogether, the choices can seem a little daunting, confusing, and overwhelming.
But when it comes to Cannabis tinctures, there’s not another Cannabis ingestion method that is more simple, easy, and clear.
Tinctures are quickly becoming a more popular alternative to smoking (which is fine occasionally, but can irritate the lungs and throat, among other things) or edibles (which can be tricky to dose and unpredictable).
And since it’s 2020 and you can order high CBG and CBD flower on the internet, you can now make non-intoxicating Cannabis tinctures or easily create your own blends to achieve certain effects.
Like all things Cannabis, tinctures can deliver so much more than just THC and the benefits of other cannabinoids are definitely worth exploring.
What are the benefits of using Cannabis tinctures over other ingestion methods?
How do you make them?
And how do you use them?
Easy Cannabis Tincture Recipes
Tinctures are commonly used as a convenient delivery system for medicinal herbs because when you use a tincture under the tongue (sublingually), plant compounds are absorbed quickly into the blood stream.
For this reason, taking Cannabis in the form of tinctures makes it easier to dose than Cannabis coconut oil or cannabutter based edibles that are high in THC.
Tinctures provide a faster delivery of all of the compounds in Cannabis, so whether you’re using CBD, CBG, or THC dominant plant material, you can feel the effects quickly and adjust your dosage as necessary.
The effects of tinctures come on 15-30 minutes after you take a dose and can last for up to 4 hours.
The effects also mellow out a lot faster than edibles, so even if you do take too much of a high THC tincture, it doesn’t linger (and possibly ruin your day) like fat-based edibles can.
On that note, tinctures are a lot harder to take too much of since they’re not in the form of something that tastes really good.
Take it from someone who has eaten one too many cookies, pancakes, and a marijuana grilled cheese sandwich. It’s easy to overdo it when you infuse your favorite foods with high THC Cannabis.
Tinctures are also very customizable.
You can go further than incorporating CBG and CBD into your tinctures by using other herbs to improve the flavor and to enhance the effects that you’re looking for.
If you want a relaxing anti-anxiety Cannabis tincture, add some lavender and chamomile. If you’re looking for something with pain relieving anti-inflammatory power, add some turmeric and ginger (recipe in the Wake + Bake Cookbook).
Are you getting excited about Cannabis tinctures yet?
This guide includes an overview of weed tinctures and covers three different tincture mediums: pure grain alcohol (a.k.a. Green Dragon or PGA), vodka or brandy, and a non-alcoholic MCT “tincture” (an infused oil held under the tongue like a tincture).
Benefits of Cannabis Tinctures
If you’re trying to figure out if tinctures are worth making. I have 5 reasons to give them a shot.
You can read more about the benefits of making your own tinctures as part of our ingestion method series:
5 Benefits of Cannabis Tinctures
Cannabis Tincture Recipe #1 – Green Dragon: Pure Grain Alcohol Marijuana
Green Dragon tinctures are made with Everclear, aka PGA or pure grain alcohol. The high alcohol content is incredibly strong and makes it a great medium for Cannabis infusion.
If the intense taste of high proof booze is an issue for you or if you’ve given up alcohol, keep on scrolling because I’ve got an MCT oil “tincture” for you.
This tincture is intense and makes the strongest tincture I’ve made to date. You can use other alcohol, but know that you’ll likely be leaving a lot of cannabinoids behind.
The green dragon tincture is perfect for making strong candies, gummies, lollypops, etc. because it’s easy to incorporate small amounts with decent potency without changing the consistency of the mixture.
It’s nice to mix your green dragon tincture with something sweet (I use honey) if you’re just going to take it sublingually (under the tongue).
You can also evaporate some of the alcohol off to make the tincture even stronger. Just leave the cover off and keep it in a well ventilated area until tincture reaches desired flavor and potency.
Cannabis Tincture #2 – Vodka or Brandy
These alcohol based tinctures are much more mellow than the green dragon tincture because they don’t extract all of the cannabinoids from your plant material.
I know that in some states, Everclear is illegal, so this is a good alternative if you can’t get your hands on the hard stuff.
These don’t turn out as strong as the green dragon tincture, but they’re still nice.
The cannabinoids are still in the raffinate (that’s the fancy word for the Cannabis leftover from infusion), so you can experiment with using the leftover plant material to get more bang for your buck.
You can use any high quality vodka or brandy for these tinctures. I just happened to have some local organic stuff on hand and they turned out great.
I haven’t tried any other brands, so if you prefer something, let everyone know in the comments below.
I prefer the flavor of brandy Cannabis tincture over the green dragon any day of the week even though it’s not as strong.
Remember that everything that doesn’t get extracted is still in your leftover plant material. Very soon I’ll be testing out making into a tea or (if it’s brandy) infusing it into a hot apple cider. Let me know if you try something else.
Cannabis Tincture #3 – Non-Alcoholic Cannabis “Tincture”
UPDATE 2020: The folks at ardent did some testing and found that Vegetable Glycerine does not effectively extract cannabinoids, so I’ve updated this post with the non alcoholic “tincture” recipe that I use now.
You can find that recipe here: Cannabis MCT Oil “tincture” Recipe
It’s an infused MCT oil, so it’s not technically a tincture, but it’s perfect for putting in dropper bottles and using it sublingually. Many Cannabis companies are calling their infused MCT oils, tinctures.
If you love your VG tinctures, by all means. I’ve made some strong VG tinctures in the past from cooking for a very long time, but this is what Ardent’s research says:
“Compare that to VG, which pulled less than 6% of the THC from the decarbed flower, infusing 1 gram of the same strain of decarbed flower into 1 ounce of VG.” – from Truth Hunters: Propylene Glycol vs. Vegetable glycerin
For a non alcoholic “tincture” you can make Cannabis infused MCT oil and take it sublingually. Read that post to learn more about the benefits of MCT tinctures and how to make them.
I use this “tincture” most often because it’s so versatile and great for on the go use. It’s really palatable and convenient, and a dropper in my morning coffee is one of my favorite ways to start the day if I need to medicate.
I bring a bottle of this everywhere and introduce it to people who are curious about edibles, but don’t know where to start. If you’re a new patient or you’re making a tincture for one, this is a great introduction. I have a hard time holding alcohol under my tongue (because I’m a big baby), so this is great for sublingual dosing of the weak-tongued.
How to Use a Cannabis Tincture – Sublingual Dosing
I’ve mentioned the term “sublingual” a few times during this post and I feel like I should probably cover wtf that means.
In short, it just means that you administer the tincture under your tongue and hold it there as it absorbs into the membrane beneath the tongue.
It’s a very fast and accurate way to administer tinctures.
Here’s a good in-depth (and super nerdy) explanation from Wikipedia
In a nutshell, sublingual dosing means holding a dose of your tincture under your tongue for as long as you can before swallowing or spitting it out (if you’re very sensitive to edibles).
If you do this and spit out the tincture when you’re done, compounds like THC wont be broken down by the liver. That breakdown is what makes edibles so much more intoxicating.
Will you have awkward conversations with a checkout person in a whole foods as you mumble “I chust chook a chinchure” with your chin up in the air?
You betcha.
Worth the effects? Totally.
Do You Need to Decarboxylate Before Making Tinctures?
Yes!
If you want a high THC, CBD, or CBG content in your tinctures (as opposed to a high THCA, CBDa, or CBGa content), make sure to decarboxylate your plant material before beginning to steep your tinctures.
For more info in this necessary step, check out the Wake + Bake post about decarboxylation here.
I use an Ardent FX to decarboxylate my Cannabis because it effectively transforms over 98% of the THCa to THC without any THC loss. You can read more about that here.
How To Make Cannabis Tinctures
We’re finally here! Now that we’ve learned a little about the different tinctures and how to administer them, it’s time to learn how to create a batch in your very own kitchen.
Cannabis Tincture Recipe
Equipment
- Quart Jar and lid
- Paper bag (optional)
- Strainer
- Dropper bottles
Ingredients
- 1 oz Decarboxylated Cannabis (28g)
- 2 Cups Everclear, Moonshine, Vodka, or Brandy
Instructions
- Fill a quart jar with your decarboxylated Cannabis and add your alcohol of choice.
- Cover the jar with a lid and shake vigorously.
- Place in a dark cupboard or in a paper bag on a shelf to steep.
- Shake the mixture vigorously again before straining. If steeping for longer, shake every couple of days.
- Steep for anywhere from 2 days to several months. Test periodically to determine if the tincture is at your desired strength.
- Strain out the plant material. (Save the "raffinate" for a rainy day)!
- Pour into dropper bottles.
- Make sure to calculate your dosage and label your finished product.
1. Fill a quart jar with:
1 oz (28g) decarboxylated Cannabis
(to adjust strength see calculating tincture dosage below)
2. Add:
2 Cups Everclear, Moonshine, Vodka, or Brandy (go here if making a non-alcoholic tincture)
3. Cover with a lid and shake vigorously. Place in a dark cupboard or in a paper bag on a shelf.
4. Shake the mixture vigorously again before straining. If steeping for longer, shake every couple of days.
5. Steep for anywhere from 2 days to several months. Test periodically to determine if the tincture is at your desired strength.
6. Strain out plant material. Save the “raffinate” for a rainy day.
7. Pour into dropper bottles.
8. Make sure to calculate your dosage and label your finished product.
Note on length: Some people say that longer tinctures are better and more medicinal, but new research is showing that you don’t need to leave your tincture for weeks or months on end to extract most of the cannabinoids from your plant material.
[2020 UPDATE] The Heat Steep Technique + Ice Dragon Tincture Recipe
When I originally wrote this post, I shared a method for heating your tincture for a quicker result.
I’ve done this in the past in a closed mason jar in a crockpot. Do not do it over the stove or with an open container, because it could be dangerous (read: explosive) or cause fumes.
I burped the lid a bunch and kept the windows open and the temp low. In my experience, it made a really fast and potent tincture that tasted excellent.
Since then, we’ve had access to lab results from Ardent that say there’s no need to heat a tincture and that good results can be achieved in as little as 3 hours.
They got over an 80% infusion rate at room temperature in 3 hours and speculate that using the ice dragon technique could yield even better results.
It’s a heck of a lot safer and way faster than using the old, popular methods.
It’s currently my favorite way to make alcohol based tinctures.
If you sign up for my newsletter, I’ll share any new data that comes out (plus you’ll get more healthy Cannabis recipes).
Calculating Cannabis Tincture Dosage
Calculating the dosage of your tinctures and edibles is now easier than ever.
Just head over to the Wake + Bake Dosage Calculator (below) and plug in your percentages and the amount of alcohol or MCT oil you use.
At 1 oz (28 grams) of 10% high THC plant material in 2 cups of alcohol, works out to about 29.17mg teaspoon (5 ml) an average dropper contains.
Most average size droppers contain between 1/8-1/4 teaspoons in each dropper, so you have to check your dropper to see how much each dropper contains.
Mine was 1/4 teaspoon, so it came out to about 7.25 mg per dropper.
Let Me Know…
What’s your favorite tincture method and medium? Do you have something really technical and informative to share with other tincture enthusiasts? Do you have questions about the process?
Leave a comment below!
We can’t get respond to everyone in the comments (especially about your infusion’s dosage, alternative ingredients, or different techniques), but – as long as you’re kind and not a robot – we’ll post it for you so another reader can dive in.
With love,
Corinne
Are you a total Cannabis nerd like me? Have you ever considered turning it into a career? Learn more here!
Disclaimer: This is not intended as medical advice. I’m not a doctor. I’m also not a lawyer and can’t defend you if you get busted trying to make this recipe in a state that still considers possession or cultivation of Cannabis a criminal act. I don’t agree with this law, but I’d never advocate that you break it. Jail would suck. Instead, I strongly advise that you work to change the law in your state or nation by supporting and being active in grassroots organizations that are trying to legalize Cannabis in your area (they’re everywhere). This recipe is heretofore only intended as educational information for people who live in states or countries where medical or recreational use of Cannabis is legal, who are 21 and older, of sound mind and who understand that operating heavy machinery (cars, trucks, planes, etc.) under the influence of any intoxicant, including high THC Cannabis, is incredibly dangerous, immature, and wholly stupid. Please don’t ever eat anything intoxicating and drive. Support public transportation or use the two legs that evolution gave you and walk your sweet ass wherever it is that you need to go.
Links:
http://www.theweedblog.com/the-most-underrated-of-all-marijuana-products-weed-tinctures/
http://eatyourcannabis.com/cannabis-tinctures/?age-verified=0158ac1f99
Hi, thanks so much for writing this! Could these tinctures be mixed into lotions or salves for topical use? Thank you!
I love this article. I also love the dose calculator. Please add a ml option. Teaspoons vary a lot. Metric is safer and more reliable.
Alison, when it says teaspoon it does not mean the stainless steel teaspoon that is in your silverware set ( which are all different sizes) it means a teaspoon measuring spoon which are a standardized measurement.
I’ve been doing a 5 day freezer method. I found the directions someplace on the web, I’m sorry to not be able to give proper credit where it’s due.
-put bottle of alcohol in freezer right after I buy it.
-grind/chop bud/trim
-decarb (somewhere read 220-240f for about an hour)
-cool, then put in glass jar w/lid. Put in freezer for awhile (like an hour)
-add alcohol to jar of cold herb, put on lid and shake really well.
-shake really well 2x/day, open to burp once/day (I don’t know why or if it’s even needed).
-do this for 5 days. (some people have said only for a few hours, some say for a few weeks or months. I haven’t waited longer than a week, but always the 5 days. Who knows, maybe it isn’t needed that long at all…)
-strain. I strain first in a regular wire strainer, then add a coffee filter and strain again, then once again with another clean coffee filter.
-It isn’t necessary, but I also evaporate some of the alcohol out of it (thinking it’ll be more gentle under my tongue) I put the tincture (same glass jar as was in the freezer) in a pan of water over the stove until it’s about 1/2 the volume as I started out with. Keep a thermometer in the jar the tincture is in, don’t let it go over about 110 f. I think if it keeps being heated, or heated to hot, you lose potency.
-pour in dropper bottle and your good to go. I usually use a 35 mm glass dropper bottle and use about 1/2 a dropper full.
I would love some feedback on my method. The stuff helps, that’s all I know. Usually I’m using high CBD and very low THC herb, so there isn’t an easy way to tell if the dose is enough or too much. When I’ve used high THC bud, 1/2 a dropper full was enough to kick me in the butt…. One day at work I was in a lot of pain and used that much of the high THC tincture, I was desperate for relief. WELL…it was WAY too strong for me. I actually emailed my cubicle mates to keep an eye on me, as I was feeling like I’d pass out. Somehow I managed to sound human, but WOW…not for daytime use! hmm…maybe I should make some more of that…
freezers good , but dry ice is better plus you get chance too make mean hash and keif plus the dry ice plus water makes ya kitchen look like a holloween music video lol
I did the one day freezer method and used a french press coffee maker to filter. So far it is looking good. Takes awhile to get potency results since the only way I can test is by trying it out.
I use the same method and love it. I do however mix my tincure with a bit of honey. Adds a wonderful sweetness.
Does MCT oil achieve the same effect as the honey sweetener?
I used the freezer recipe as well but I used at least 2 ounces of sugar buds, I didn’t weigh it but I do know that after it was ground up it was only 3 inches from the top of the jar. I shook it several times a day. I also saved the weed after straining because I know I can use it again. I use my tincture to make gummies, cookies, brownies, etc. I just add it to my mix. You can add tincture to just about anything that is not baked above 350°. Baking above 350° will burn off the THC.
An ounce of herb is A LOT of expense in my country. Even if I was to use a quarter of herb with half a pint of everclear that’s still quite a bit. Is it possible to use less herb or is this the standard dosage?
By the way I love this site so much, keep up the good work ?
Ryan,
Though I have not made tincture yet, I have made cannabis coconut oil using 1/2 the recommended amount of bud. Erring on the side of caution. I am currently still low doing at 1/8 t. Per dose. Though I do not get a high per se, I absolutely get noticeable lessening of pain. So I know less weed still is effect even at a low dose. Increased dosage my well increase high or stronger pain relief. Will know soon. I may never use suggested amounts if this stays an optimal result.
you can use less botanicals AND less liquid. just break both ingredients in half or quarter whatever amount you can do. I love making butter and baking with it..or even just on toast…
Norma Jean, do you decarb your cannabis before infusing into coconut oil? It really makes a difference, as does adding 1-2 tsp or so of Sunflower Liquid Lecitihin as the infusion cools. Apparently this “potentiates” the cannabinoids and makes the infusion a lot stronger. Both methods have been tried with and without and with is the go. Cheers
In your article you talk about using 10% TH percent THC is there a difference when you use something like a 22% THC can you reduce the amount of Herb you use to alcohol. Thank you for this article it’s been so helpful because everybody tells you kind of different ways of doing it and this one’s very specific
Did not want to use full ounce on first try so I used the freezer method with 1/4 ounce decarbed and 1 cup vodka. Shook twice a day for 21 days. Strained with a cheese cloth and put in dropper bottles. I used 1 oz to make first batch of gummies. Im happy with them. Interesting thing is I dried out used pot and ground fine and put in a 99cent box of brownies, figured nothing to lose. I ate a one inch square and was really stoned one hour later and lasted 6 hours! Recipes say to discard? Brownies stronger than gummies!
Anyone have any “uses” for old weed. I was using for a while….then went off weed for some time due to not wanting to smoke it. But I kept it….like for 6-8 yrs!!! [ya, I know, nuff said] – it was just hard to throw out as there was a day that weed was hard to come by where I live in Canada – not any more!!!
So, what can I do now with it? Pitch it OR….I like the “or” solutions much better if there are any. Thx so much for kind replies.
Hi Lynne Probably way too late but if you still have the herb, you could make it into a balm by infusing into coconut oil. I don’t think decarbing at this stage would be of much use as probably the herb has decarbed itself. But it might be great as a sleep aid!
I would make a tincture
I have had weed at least up to four years with no reduction off potency. I would try it anyways just to ensure usefulness. Good luck.
I keep my weed in the freezer. I’m not a smoker, so it lasts a lot longer with edibles. I’ve started making cannabutter, cannahoney and alcohol infusions. I’ve had it there for several years and it doesn’t decrease the potency.
So I was making the VG tincture in my slow cooker and the coconut oil on my stove at the same time. I didn’t have lecithin for the butter recipe, but I remember reading “you can just add it later”. A few hours later I managed to find some lecithin and what do I do? Put 1 tbsp into the tincture.
My plan was to make a tincture that I could vape. I tried vaping it but didn’t get much out of it. I think the amount of lecithin just thinned it out too much as I can’t get enough of it into the vape pen. Can I separate the lecithin somehow?
Lesson learned: Don’t sample the product while cooking.
So I have made ever clear tinture and cooked it down to oil on a hot plate and now I want to make it in to a marijane salve for pain any good recipies ?
Which of the three tinctures analytics most closely resemble that of the cured bud the tincture is made from?
I’ve only done oil a few times with mixed results. I used ABV to make it though and made it different ways (crock pot with water and oil, pan simmer, mason jar in a crock pot with water around it, bud in cheese cloth soaking in oil in crock pot). Grinding I think is key though and have a coffee grinder for it.
I’m thinking making a tincture with my trim to make drinks with. Maybe alcoholic drinks, but prefer hot tea. Would you make the tinctures different based on what you were going to mix with or is it all the same? I want it to be as potent as I can get though.
Wonderful way to take my meds!
I’m so excited to try making tinctures for shorter bursts of relief that don’t strand me in a cognitive zombieland.
Would love to try tinctures
I love tinctures. I use them all the time. In fact, I make a tincture that I use for vaping. I also have one that I use for pain.
Do you mind sharing your vap recipe?
I don’t know if you will actually get the as it is over 2 years after the original post, but I was wondering if you would be willing to send me your recipe for tincture for vaping. My email address is [email protected]
I am making an alcohol tincture with 80 proof vodka, via the freezer. Will comment again on this article when it finishes later this week. I previously made a glycerin tincture but was not happy with the mess in getting it from jar into bottles and during delivery of the medicine. I think I will like the alcohol tincture better in that regard and will likely try the ever clear method next.
I want to try this!!
I plan on using the VG method to make hard candy but would like to be able to know my dosage ratio. In my experience I can get 24 servings of a 10mg thc dose from about 4 tablespoons of butter. Would that make 24 servings of VG in 8 tablespoons (or 12 servings in 4 tablespoons)? I guess I’m just trying to figure out the potency vspe butter. Any input would be helpful!
Ok…..so I’ve been smoking for years….and it’s not having the same affect. Now I’m wondering about tinctures? What is a tincture?
It would make 24 half teaspoons. So if you consider one half teaspoon of your oil a serving size, then that would be 24 servings. So if a recipe makes 12 servings(say brownies), you would want 12 half teaspoons, same as 6 teaspoons, same as 2 tablespoons. So if the recipe for brownies calls for a half cup oil, put your 2 tablespoons of marijuana oil in the measuring cup then fill rest of way to the half mark with your regular oil (coconut oil hopefully)
You’re commenting on an entire article about that very subject.
Thanks so much for these thorough instructions Corinne! I have a question: I just got the Aura Cacia organic vegetable glycerin you linked on here. However I notice on the bottle it indicates “for external use only.” I’m assuming you have used it internally as a tincture and it’s fine for consumption, right? Otherwise I’ll return it and order the Mountain Rose one instead. Thanks!
I noticed that too, but I’ve been using it for a couple of years now without any ill effects. I’m not sure why it says that. If anyone knows, maybe you can enlighten us. Otherwise, I’ll try to get a hold of them and see what they say. Thanks Seeemoanahhh!
Hi Seemoanahhh and Corrine, there are two types of glycerine. The one that is linked is to a skin care product which is why it says for external use only. There is also food grade glycerine is the type that should be used for the tincture. But with no ill effects I am unsure what the actual difference is. Thanks for all the info and good eats and products!!! Much ❤️
— Side note it is not recommended to do the grain alcohol tincture on the stove top (specifically gas stove) because the high alcohol content may cause fire. —
Good to know! I’ll do some more research and change that link. I’ll also add a warning about Booze + Heat = Fire <3
Thanks so much for reaching out and for the feedback!
Much love,
Corinne
Did you make the tincture with vodka with the crock pot method?
Hi Corinne, thanks for the informative site. Question re making tincture with vodka… can I use flavored vodka?
Hmmm… good question. I would assume, as long as the alcohol proof is the same, it would work. I’m not sure what they use to flavor it, so you may want to look into that as well.
Oh well too late…but I only used a couple cups of the Raspberry vodka and 6 cups of reg vodka. Day 1…let the steeping commence. Also did 1.5 cups of triple sec ( didnt have any brandy) to make up the difference I was short in vodka as I processed 3.5 oz of trim/bud. Will let all know how the tincture turns out.
Yes, do let us know how it goes, Jamie. Good luck!
Hey Jamie,
Maddie here (Corinne’s assistant)
That is a great question! I haven’t run into that one yet, I will bring it to Corinne at our weekly meeting!
Thanks so much for your question!
If you have anymore questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected]– I’ll be happy to help!
-Maddie (Team Wake + Bake)
the food grade indicates that it’s been processed and packaged in a clean, sterile, inspected environment regulated and approved by the state. In other words, money paid to state to use food-grade on label. So its at your own risk.
Corrine, In your experience how should VG tincture be stored and how long does it last?
Thanks-
I’ve made tincture in the freezer and with the Magical Butter Machine. Both work great and produce quality tinctures. If you can afford the machine, go for it. Otherwise, decarb the weed, put it and the alcohol in the freezer overnight and combine the next morning. Shake it and keep it in the freezer 2 weeks. Shake it up once a day. Strain it and bottle it. It can be used to make gummies and lollipops. I have found that the tincture carries the same properties as the strain you use. The best one for pain that I have made was from Purple Diesel.
Hi Yvonne!
Thanks for reaching out and sharing! What type of alcohol did you use? I’m wondering if a brandy freezer tincture would be good…
Much love,
Corinne
Couple of questions about the Green Dragon: Is it ok to add flavors to it? What’s the most effective way to do this? If I use honey, as suggested in the post, how much?
Also, with all the posts about lecithin and it’s benefits to your end result, should I add lecithin to my Green Dragon?
I add honey to my everclear green Dragon. Its wonderful
I made Green Dragon heat method with 151 rum. At the same time I made Vegetable Glycerin tincture. I was trying to come up with a good tincture for sleep. I gave my willing test subject some GD under his tongue and he nearly screamed. So then the VG tincture. Too sickly sweet.
I previously had tried mixing some RSO w/alcohol and add vegetable glycerin to it, but it would not mix. So with a bit of trepidation, I decided to mix the two together. I kept the mix on the stove in the double boiler for a while longer to help them mix.
Voila! It worked! I now had a tincture made from both, not too sweet, not too much burn. I ended up with about a pint. I supply friends and family. It’s helps sleep, it’s good in tea.
Thanks for the inspiration!
SORRY BUT WHAT IS RSO, AND WHAT TWO DID YOU EVENTUALLY USE TOGETHER? CAN IT BE GIVEN TO PET OR CHILDREN? WHAT WERE THE ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS THAT YOU USED. DID YOU USE SHAKE OR BUD? TIA…V
RSO is short for Rick Simpson Oil and is VERY potent. I would be careful with giving to kids and would recommend NOT giving it to dogs at all since ingesting THC can be harmful to dogs.
I don’t have kids so am not going to make any recommendations except to do some homework. Dogs, however, I will share my experience. My 6 y/o dog has the beginnings of arthritis and I give him CBD tincture and the big fan leaves that I pluck off my plants and it helps big time! Good luck!
I would agree with you, Danny. RSO is a whole plant extract which is very high in THC. Even some adults taking RSO for cannabis have a hard time handling the intense psychoactive effects, so unless it’s an extreme situation of life or death, I don’t think I would recommend RSO for any other pediatric use.
And yes, THC can be toxic for your pets, especially in high doses. I have seen some pretty unhappy dogs who accidentally ate their human’s goodies. CBD, on the other hand, appears to be handled very well. I know my pooch loves CBD treats. Fan leaves are a GREAT idea… thanks for that tip!
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I’ve taken an ounce or more of good quality bud chopped it up but not a fine grind and mixed it with 750 ml of 80 proof vodka. I was kinda anxious to try this and I never heated up the pot first. I shake the bottle every day and I plan on adding some ground mint. Can anyone give me an idea of what I can expect after it has steeped for a month or so?
No decarb, no thca chemical change to thc means you wasted a bunch of pot. Always devabyoxalte. Its is a chemical reaction that is absolutely imperative if you want the effects of thc.
Going to reply here, since I don’t yet see anyone else suggesting this. Since those who smoke pot don’t carboxylate (they smoking does that for them) perhaps heating the whole concoction (carefully, because of the alcohol) gently to about 170 degrees for about 20 minutes may decarboxylate her tincture. RSO oil, from what I have seen via his videos, is not decarboxylated prior to him adding to his weed and then cooking over low heat. In other words, if she heats the resulting ticture, might it not release the THCa?
Although you do not have the effects of THC, there will be THCa, which is an anti-inflamitory, and a full range of terpenes, so it can still help with pain control. I know, I’ve made it for just this reason so I can drive and interact while not high.
Probably way too late but just for INFO. You could have taken the tincture and reduced down enough to add and to mix it into sugar (the amount of sugar depends on the result you want) Then once you have done that you could make Toffee or hard candy. making sure you need to bring that temp. of candy mixture to 300 gegrees. That would also decarb the tincture in that sugar so you would not have wasted it.
The second link for glycerin isn’t working.
I’m on it! Thanks Laura 🙂
Hi Corinne:
How did making the tincture in your MBM ruin your MBM? I’d like to find out before I start making tinctures in the MBM.
Thank!
Tom
I made a PGA at 6000 feet at 160 degrees. Apparently it didn’t like that…
I just made my first tincture in the MBM and I put 5 cups everclear to 3 oz of buds on the 160 degrees for 4 hours when I opened up the machine it has only 1 cup liquid, is that right and now how strong will it be? I am not sure how much to use for a dose. did the machine burn off too much everclear? Also the machine was really sticky but i wiped it with alcohol. what did you mean when you said ruined your MBM
Hi rose!
That sounds about right. When I said it ruined it, I mean that I burnt off all of the alcohol by using a heat setting at high altitude and the machine never worked again. I can’t know for sure about dosage (these are the moments when a tcheck really comes in handy), but start low and go very slow. You probably have some stroooong tincture on your hands! Let me know how it goes!
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I put nine grams of decarbed flower in a 1.25 x 3.75 86 micron nylon mesh bag, then slip that into another same size bag. Into the freezer for 24hrs, after which, it is then slipped into 5oz. Everclear that is in a pint Mason jar which has also been in the freezer 24hrs. Shake the crap out of it for 2-3 minutes, then put back in freezer, laying on its side so pouch is completely immersed. Do that once an hour for three hours. After final shake remove lid, stick a shrimp skewer through bag so you can suspend across the top of jar and let drain. Stick in a dark cupboard evaporate off 2 oz. Usually takes 12-16 days. There will be husks left bottom but no plant material. All that filtering crap was a beating. 2ml in 2 oz yogurt along with 1/2 gram of decarbed flower 2hr. b4 bed no more insomnia or joint pain and wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Thanks for the informative article! I have a couple ounces of trim (sugar leaf and very small buds) from last year’s harvest that I’ve kept in the freezer…can I use to make a tincture, and should I use more than 1 ounce for a quart of alcohol?
Hi,
I have a question,
If I use 1 gm and want to use it recreationally maybe 3-4 times a week, how long do you think the tincture would last me? I am trying to figure out if I should use only 1 gm or buy more hehe.
Safe way to reduce the alcohol: leave it open to evaporate. To speed it up mightily, blow a fan over it. That will reduce it in hours.
I can’t get ever clear where I am, does anyone have any experience using bacardi 151 or is that a bad idea I don’t want to ruin the product I have, so any advice would be helpful! 🙂
Note use a fan over glass dish when evaporating. Depending on humidity about 1-2 hours. If you evaporate all the way you will have crackle.
Fast freezer method. There is no need to keep longer than 6 min in cold 190 proof alcohol. You are extracting more chlorophyle and lignine. The glue that holds plant/wood fibers together.
Decarb 3.5 grams(1/8th oz) in nova.
Put into small jelly size canning jar. Add 60 ml (2 oz) of 190 proof grain alcohol from freezer. Mash buds into cold alcohol. Shake and put in freezer for 6 min. Or I use an ultrasonic cleaner for 5 min. Shake nd strain thru coffee filter.
Put into a glass baking dish and evaporate by half. Use a fan over top for 1-2 hours. should yield 30ml or 1 oz. Strain again thru coffe filter. Store in glass Amber or blue jar. Use syringe to dose under tounge or use a spray atomizer top. Terpene profile and cannabinoid are not ruined by heat.
1 jar method. Gets better after oxidizing a few days like edibles.
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Hi Corinne,
I love your recipes! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with everyone.
I have a question. I’m about to harvest my first crop (yay!). Does the bud need to be dried and cured before I use it to make tincture or canna coconut oil?
Thanks!!
I legally get medical marijuana but in my state, it’s very restricted and the options are limited. No edibles, nothing that can be smoked. I get vape cartridges which deliver 90 doses of 2 mg of THC per dose. Very weak stuff. Plus they cost $100 each.
For me, the cost is an issue as is the relatively weak dosage. So my goal was to make a more affordable substitute with high potency. Here’s how I did it:
[REQUIRED DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A FICTIONAL ACCOUNT, I DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANY OF THIS]
1. Decarb 2.5 oz (70 g) dry herb. This is NOT an optional step. I used some Granddaddy Purp that I knew was powerful, with an estimated THC content of 20%. (For my next batch, I’ll probably use something more indica-leaning, more energetic, less sedating). Yes, dry herb is illegal in my state.
2. How to decarb: THCA is non-psychoactive and must be converted to THC. One method is to apply heat, but be careful. You should aim for a range of 220° to 240° F [all references to temperature are in Fahrenheit]. Decarb starts around 205° but THC itself starts to boil off at around 315°. You don’t have to be precise to the degree, but you do have to keep it between 220° to 240° for best results. 90 minutes is usually good. I invested about $180 in a Lift decarboxylator, but you can do this using an oven, water bath, etc. The Lift doesn’t require that you grind your leaf first. I would probably do a rough grind if I was using any other method. You can look up do-it-yourself decarb methods on the internet, but whatever method you use, proper temperature range of 220° to 240° is critical.
3. The Lift decarbs ½ oz at a time, so the decarb process took me about 8 hrs. I already loaded my infuser with 1 liter of 190 proof (95% alcohol) Everclear, and as ½ oz batches were decarbed, they went into the alcohol to soak. I gave everything a good soak overnight. Even if you decarb all at once, I would let it soak overnight, maybe longer.
4. For the alcohol, it’s very important that you use a neutral spirit (grain alcohol or vodka work well) of as high a proof as you can find. I haven’t tried anything other than Everclear (which works really well) and I wouldn’t go below 150 proof. Use only ethyl alcohol. Do NOT use rubbing or other non-drinkable alcohols. You don’t want to use anything in this process that you couldn’t safely put in your body directly.
5. In the morning, I infused the decarbed leaf into the alcohol. I used a Mighty Fast Herbal Infuser available online for about $125. The Magical Butter Machine is another option. I ran 2 long cycles of 8 hours each. You could probably get away with less but I didn’t want to take shortcuts. If you don’t have an infuser, you can also find do-it-yourself infusion methods on the internet that require just alcohol and time or heat.
6. Strain, strain, strain. When the infusion is done, I ran the mixture through a fine mesh wire strainer a few times. You want to get out as much of the plant material as possible. I then ran the mixture through a 75 micron nut milk bag a few times (you can also use cheesecloth). Squeeze the bag to make sure to get all the liquid out (wear gloves if possible). I then ran everything through a conical coffee filter a few more times. You’ll be left with a dark, STICKY liquid. (If you’re going to vape the end product, you’ll want it as pure as possible so it vapes cleanly, doesn’t clog, and doesn’t have that telltale SMELL. If you’ll be talking it orally, it’s fine if some plant residue remains and you can be less thorough in straining.)
7. Set up a water bath to boil off the remaining alcohol. I took a large aluminum pot filled about almost to the top and brought it to a boil. Move your infused liquid into a Pyrex bowl slightly larger than the top of your pot. Once the water boils, place the Pyrex on top of the pot, stirring the infused liquid constantly with a spatula. (The pot will boil over, so have towels nearby.) Alcohol starts to boil at about 173°, water at 212°, and THC at 315°. By heating the infused liquid to 212°, you’re removing the alcohol but keeping the THC you worked so hard to get. I reduced the liquid by about 2/3. It should be around the consistency of maple syrup. [If you’re making THC vape juice, you can add those ingredients now (see below) and heat about 10 minutes more until it’s all dissolved.]
8. Congratulations, you’ve now got a concentrated THC tincture. Be careful: the concentrate is VERY sticky and will STAIN clothes, counters, skin, etc. It’s almost like super glue, if it gets on your hands or surfaces, you will need to SCRUB to get it off. Did I mention it’s super sticky?
9. Decide on a delivery system.
a. You can fill a dropper with the tincture and take it sublingually. It’s very effective this way.
b. You can also take orally like an edible, but the onset will be delayed like any other edible.
c. I mixed with 1/3 vegetable glycerin (VG) and 1/3 propylene glycol (PG), both of which are used commercially to make e-vape juice. [VG, PG, and lecithin are all readily available on the internet.] Make sure to use food-grade. I also added a little soy lecithin as an emulsifier and some flavoring. [Would probably skip the flavoring next time. Not sure it’s 100% safe to ingest. Was looking more to cover the smell, but if you strain well, smell won’t be an issue.] It worked well for vaping but I ended up with a slightly diluted product. It does work with generic vape pens and with the cartridges I get from my dispensary. But I had the best results using a portable vape nail (or e-Nail) rather than a vape pen. Next time I would use much less VG and PG for a more concentrated product and use an e-Nail exclusively. See d.
d. I’ve since determined that the cartridges I get from the dispensary contain THC infused Medium-Chain Triglyceride (MCT) coconut oil. I’m planning on making a concentrated alcohol infusion again and mixing with equal parts MCT oil. Will let you know if it works better than VG/PG mixture.
10. USE CAREFULLY, THIS IS STRONG SHIT. You’ll wind up with a very concentrated product and you need to start slow and slowly increase the dosages until you find something that works for you. I found the end product exponentially stronger than what I was getting from the dispensary.
11. The total cost for equipment (Lift, infuser, vape pens, e-Nail) and materials was about $1,300. I ended up with the equivalent of about 78 cartridges (a retail value of $7,800) at a cost of about $17 each. I figure I have about a 25 month supply now.
My biggest fear was that I’d waste 2.5 oz of primo leaf and wind up with an ineffective final product. I’m happy to say that did not happen. Now I’m working on finetuning the delivery system.
Hi there,
i read that using 190 proof everclear could damage the MFHI, is this true?
Hi, I am planning on getting a Lift/Nova and was wondering about Step 3, specifically in context of using the Ardent Lift or Nova.
After decarbing with Lift, do you grind the bud before putting it in the alcohol? Or do you put whatever is in there, directly in, with no manipulation?
I am picturing, without grinding, large, dense nugs going into the alcohol, which would not infuse as evenly? … Or will the decarb process somewhat break down the nugs, and thus preclude any need for grinding at any point in the process, when using a Lift?
Clearly I am new to this so let me know what your process is when using the Lift re: grinding/not grinding.
Thanks!
I love this! It was so helpful!! What were the results of adding the coconut oil?
Hey. Tons of helpful info in your post. Ty for posting. I have a magic butter machine. I used 1oz of 19%thc w 2 cups Everclear. After 2 cycles, I was down to one cup. How do I figure out dosage? Is it pre or post evaporation that you enter into the calculators? I’m trying to make gummies @ 20 mgs ea. Thanks so much for your time!
Hi Corrine. I’m wondering if you need medicine HIGH in CBD do you use weed high in CBD for your tincture? Or can you use weed with both CBD and THC or just THC?
Benda, you should get out of your tinctures, whatever cannabinoids you put into it, so it will extract both THC and CBD cannabinoids. I’m not expert on this, but pretty certain that’s the way it works.
I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet. I make a THC/CBD tincture with twice the weight of high CBD herb to high THC herb. I use Food Grade Propylene Glycol as the liquid medium. I use the “Long Steep” method, with the herb and Glycol in a jar shaken twice a day for 6 weeks. There are instructions for this method all over the internet, but if you would like I can provide my weights and measures.
Hello 👋 we have a tincture of marijuana n 100 proof alcohol but do not know what to do with it lol! Make punch? Perhaps but what else? Can we bake with it?
Corrine, thank you for your wonderful posts and recipes! I’ve got 4 batches of tincture slow brewing right now. My first batch tastes terrible. The alcohol taste is very strong. The second back tastes much better, although I prepared them exactly the same. I’m wondering if I should try a water bath to try to evaporate some of the booze? I’m a little hesitant because, you know, it’s really flammable…and I also don’t want to ruin it because OMG is it amazing. If anyone is reading this that hasn’t tried the recipe yet, go for it! I’m never buying another store bought edible again.
The second question is – what if I wanted to make a pure CBD tincture? Would I simply omit the decarb process? Or is there a special kind of plant I need to buy? I know this is a dumb question, but I can’t find the answer anywhere. Thanks in advance to anyone that would like to offer their two cents.
Hey. Question about Cannabis (hard) Candy. All recipes I see use corn syrup and sugar. neither contains fat. I thought THC needs a fat to absorb it. Comments please?
Hi!
i have never made a tincture before, i am thinking of making the vodka version and maybe the vegetable glycerin version.
how do you test the potency and figure out how to dose your treats?
love your blog:)
cheers,
elle
I have the version 2 MBM, with the 130 degree setting. I made tincture with 200 proof “Culinary Solvent”. The result was 7.2 mg/ml and very nice. I’m stuffing a mason jar with bud in it into a corner of the basement and leaving it for eight months next… Great site, Corinne, thank you for putting this together.
what ratio of cannabis to solvent did you use?
Do you still prefer your long steep tincture? How about the tincture recipe in the Magical Butter? How do they compare from a potency perspective?
I was gifted a large bag of fresh trim so that I could treat my cat for cancer. Not knowing what I was doing I first juiced it., then froze the juice. I used the pulp for salve. And added the raw pulp to a Smoothie as I had read repeatedly trim not decarbed would not get you high. Wrong! it got me scary high in the morning and lasted hours (I only partake at night for pain relief and sleep).
My question: can I now make a tincture from the juice? Can’t find a recipe on the web so guessing it’s not a popular option.
I’m making tincture with what I had, about 1/2 oz of trim and 750 ml of Everclear. The only thing I did differently than you, Corinne, is that after I decarbed the trim I ground it in the coffee grinder before putting it in a quart jar with the alcohol. I figure more surface area=quicker extraction. (Plus bonus high coffee the next morning 🙂 It’s been extracting for a week now, I’ve been shaking it whenever I walk past it–2-3 times per day. I had about a teaspoon in some spiced mead last night and let’s just say it’s plenty strong. Not that I won’t keep it steeping, but it’s easy to siphon a bit off the top when I want a hit and it’s definitely already quite dark green and potent.
Comment above re: adding flavorings made me think I’m going to add a few cloves, a stick of cinnamon, and orange and lemon zest while it steeps. Because, well, why not?
Do you add lecithin to tinictures? If so what’s the process?
Has anybody ever made a tincture using pure hash oil concentrate? Would it be the same process as with flower? Just mix the oil with vodka and let it sit? Thanks!
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I followed your Long Steep Tincture recipe with high grade Indica except I used Propylene Glycol and it seems to have turned out fine. Steeped it about 6 weeks. Shook it every morning and night.
I had also previously made Tincture using the Easy Butter Maker, a cheaper version of the Magical Butter Machine.
I use the tincture both sublingually and in tea at bedtime. Knocks me right out.
The problem is the flavor. I tried some spearmint oil and also some sweeteners but it doesn’t really cover up the taste.
Got any suggestions to make this a bit more tasty?
Yes! I make elixirs using maple syrup or honey to taste. You can also try steeping other herbs (I like lavender) in the tincture and see if that improves the flavor for you. Or you can do a combination of both 🙂
I hope that helps!
Much love,
Corinne
The longer it steeps the more plant matter/chlorophyll will be extracted. I believe the freezing part is to reduce the plant matter extracted although I’ve never done it.
Cover decarbed plant matter in a mason jar with PGA + a bit more and shake. After 5 minutes it will even be strong. 30 minutes is plenty. I am convinced at least 50% and probably closer to 70% of the good stuff is extracted in the 1st few minutes. This first batch will have very little chlorophyll and other plant material. You can do a 2nd run and steep longer (days/weeks). It will be weaker and have more plant material but still plenty strong. I’ve made cookies with the material left after the 2nd run by leaving out a little of the flour and adding as much as I thought the dough could handle. Not tasty but effective in a pinch.
It’s possible to make a weak tincture with seeds and stems.
PGA + high heat = fire. Evaporate with a fan or just let sit in wide mouth open container for days.
I use a french press to filter.
Can’t wait to order some toys from the links here.
Hello Corinne.
Just discovered your wonderful blog. Thank you for all the super helpful, tested recipes and guidance! Can’t wait to read some of the recipes in the ebook!
I have been infusing tinctures for the past few years with freshly harvested raw cannabis leaf and bud. I usually let these tinctures infuse for at least six months, and often a year or more.
When I first starting making cannabis infusions, I made SO MUCH that I ended up re-infusing some of my tincture with MORE fresh cannabis, ending up with a 3x infusion that I then used most of to make a Rick Simpson oil.
Surprisingly, it is one of the smoothest and kindest batches of RSO I have ever made, with an incredibly pleasant and relaxed effect, reduction in pain, and the ability to maintain alertness throughout the day. I’m very pleased with this result.
Long infusions just seem to work better for me. And I haven’t bee decarboxylating my cannabis prior to use, but have just ordered the Nova, and will be ordering the MBM, as well.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
Best,
Sarah
I used abv with vanilla vodka, I’m sure it’s weaker but still gets the job done while being economical!
Hi!
I have made vegetable glycerin tincture and I’m pretty sure I totally screwed it up.
Here is what I did step by step.
1. Using a hand grinder ground an once if bud.
2. Spread it evenly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
3. Placed in an oven preheated to 200 and cooked for 60 min. I was careful to not open the oven after the bud was placed inside so the temp didn’t flux.
4. After 60 min I took the bud out and let it cool.
5. I placed half oz of the bud in two cups of glycerin in a quart Mason jar
6. I filled my Crock-Pot on to low and placed the jar of bud and glycerin for 24 hours. It maintained at 150 degrees for the 24 hours.
Now. I am making candies and it doesn’t appear this tincture I am putting in my gummies has ANY potency at all. I researched and found that I could lose up to 30% of potency and the bud started with 22% so I should be at about 15%-16%… And yet while these gummies are being tested.. basically nothing.
What did I do wrong?!
Was the bud still green after recarb? I’ve done 220-240 for 1 hr and the bud was yellowish-brown. I also use a crockpot but I put the mixture directly in the crockpot and try to keep temp around 200 for 8-24 hrs. (just don’t let it go above 212). Maybe the temp in the crockpot wasn’t high enough?
I wonder if you can use rosin in vegetable glycerin to make a good tincture , has anyone tried it yet?
Just some info from a 30-year herbalist regarding the use of the proper menstruum (solvent) to use, and why, when extracting any herb which would undoubtedly include cannabis.
190 proof Everclear vs 80 proof vodka: It is a misnomer that the stronger the alcohol, the stronger the extract.
Everclear is used when you
want more control over the water-to-alcohol ratio needed for the particular herb(s). Using the proper water-to-alcohol ratio is important when creating your menstruum (solvent). Using pure Everclear is rarely if ever used as an effective method of extraction because both alcohol and water are needed – in conjunction – to fully extract the different elements in the particular herb. So just because you are using a stronger alcohol content, such as straight Everclear as in the recipe above, doesn’t mean you are getting a stronger herbal extract, in fact the opposite is more likely to occur. It usually means your tincture will only be stronger in alcohol, while leaving the actual herbal content weaker. This is because the marc (your herb to which your menstruum has been added) has not been fully extracted.
Most herbs are well extracted with a 40-55% alcohol ratio. This equates to using an 80-110 proof form of alcohol, hence why 80 proof vodka is a popular menstruum – no need to add any additional water because 40% alcohol to 60% water will generally extract anything well.
I wish I could comment on the best ratio for cannabis but this is why I found this article – because I’m about to extract my first harvest of cannabis and I’m looking for the proper ratio. I’m also wondering about the possible inclusion of the roots as many herbal combinations are best when using the whole plant (echinacea is a popular example). But this would be for medicinal use and not within the scope of the article here.
In this vein it is worth noting that you don’t always want to decarb your cannabis – yes for a better THC high or to aid sleep, but no for some medical uses such as prostate cancer, and possibly even all other forms of cancer.
Anyway, just my 2 cents. Hope this helps a little.
Can i please contact you about more tincture info. I made my first tincture for my MS but nobody told me to cook my flowers for that decarb thing. I just hung them to dry before finely cutting them and placing them in Bacardi 151 for 45 days….shaking every day. I came to this site to find any info on adding flavoring to my tincture and i read someone’s comment above that mentioned “if you didnt decarb, you wasted your whole harvest” and i felt DEVASTATED! I kept reading and found YOUR comment and felt more encouraged that all was not lost. I hope you find this reply since it’s been awhile…but I’m open for you calling me even. Thank you in advance. ~MS patient
Hello, if you decarb your weed it becomes narcotic, if you don’t cook your flowers before infusion into tincture then you can still benifit from it’s medicinal properties without the high.
Absolutely correct! Raw, or unactivated cannabinoids do have their own health benefits, so the batch is not totally lost, Lorita! 🙂 However, be aware, unactivated cannabinoids are not as bio-available to the body as activated cannabinoids. Your body can more easily process them, thus most patients find the active cannabinoids much more efficient. Decarb your next batch, and compare the difference… we’d love to hear back!
Since your just getting in the game of Cannabis extraction then you should know that a study down by Italian researchers showed that 90% or higher food grade Ethanol is among the best solvents to use for Total Cannibidoil extraction from Cannabis flower. A bonus discovery during their study showed that they were reaching in the 90% Cannibidoils extraction at just 20 minutes soak time. A second soak of 20minutes was done to ensure full extraction. Again Cannibidoils only were the focus of this study, more accurately how carcinogen laden each extract was according to the solvent used. Infused Olive Oil was cleanest with only carcinogens inherent to Olive Oil. Ethanol extraction was second cleanest. All the solvents and procedures used in producing the true Rick Simpson Oil produce an extract that was heavily laden with carcinogens, hmm, and Rick Simpson Oil is supposed to be just the best.
Any chance of citing that (Italian) reference?
Wondering if I could make a tincture using coconut oil instead of vegetable glycerin??
You could! But then it would be an oil infusion and not a tincture. Check out this one 😉
Much love,
Corinne
wantred to leave a not about the :
Tincture vs Smoking debate
you postulate that since you are not burning the compounds, the more volatile compounds are not destroyed and you get more of those com[pounds into your body and therefore you end up with a better ‘bang for your buck’
You mentioned that tinctures are “less stoney” and this may be because of the different Bio-Availability (BA=the percentage of the compound ingested that actually ends up in your bloodstream and produces effects) for different Routes of Administration (ie. oral, smoking, sublingual, injection, etc).
According to a study done by the University of Ottawa: “THC bioavailability averages 30%. With a 3.55% THC cigarette, a peak plasma level of 152±86.3 ng/mL occured approximately 10 min after inhalation. Oral THC, on the other hand, is only 4% to 12% bioavailable and absorption is highly variable”
So while yes, you were correct in that some of the more volatile compounds are destroyed when smoked, but the decrease in BA when eaten accounts for the difference and may be why it is “Less Stoney”
There a pros and cons to both methods of ingestion, so stick to whatever works for you. I just wanted to chime in and give notice that different methods of ingestion have different values for bio-availability
I couldn’t agree more… stick with what works! Thanks for the scientific approach, Matt!
Hello … I recently made a veg glycerin tincture in my MB Machine and find it is quite mild in its effect . Is there a way to make the existing tincture stronger ? Thx
Any response ??
First question did you decarb first before infusing in the magic butter.? If not just redo the batch with more decarbed bud. That will give you a full spectrum of acid and non acid forms of the cannabiniods.
Did you check math on amount of mg per ml?
Hi Bruce,
I have made VG tincture in my MB Machine about 6 times with good results. I use 1 oz. herb to each 16 oz. bottle of VG. First off, decarb the flower (I don’t grind it first, the MBM does that) at 240 for 45-50 minutes then let it cool in the same container you decarbed it in. Then put the flower and VG in the MBM and set at 130 degrees and 8 hour cycle. I think the 8 hour cycle makes a stronger finished tincture. I didn’t strain my last batch, just put it into a large mason jar and store in the fridge. A typical dose for me is 10-15 mg, which is about 1 ml of tincture. My favorite way to use the VG tincture is in gummies (recipe below).
Gummies using VG tincture.
Add these ingredients to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the unflavored gelatine to soften.
1 small box Jello
2 envelopes unflavored gelatine
1 c. applesauce (or other thick-ish fruit puree)
1 c. white sugar
Cook and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding your VG tinchure. Pour into a small baking dish or bread pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and allow to cool in the fridge before cutting into squares and rolling in sugar (if desired).
I usually add 50 ml. of tincture, then cut into 48 squares. My favorite flavor combination is peach Jello and mango puree.
I made an alcohol infused tincture which is quite nice . I was thinking of adding this tincture to a large batch of honey . Any suggestions on exactly how to do this ie heat up the honey and just add the tincture ? … how hot ? … how long ? etc . Thx
One way is to re-infuse your existing tincture with more cannabis for a longer infusion time. I’m an herbalist, so have quite a bit of infusing experience.
I don’t have an MB machine, so can’t speak to that method. Based on past experience, I am a big believer in 4-8 week infusions or longer, although I have made some super potent infused honey by placing the jar of honey/cannabis in a yogurt maker water bath for 5 days at 110 degrees.
Just for precision sake, how big the quart jar is supposed to be? there are different sizes.
The answer is in your question; quart jar refers to a quart volume = 2 pints = 4 cups. Rough metric conversion 1 quart = .95L.
Because alcohol is a superior solvent, I’ve used the Quick Wash Method in the freezer with Everclear and made an alcohol tincture. I then do a “solvent transfer” to glycerin, which makes it more palatable. I’ve only done this with a CBD strain (Sour Tsunami) and had it tested by a lab: it tested at 72mg. per oz. of CBD. Now it may not seem a lot but high CBD bud strains usually test out at a much lower rate than a high THC – I believe that my Sour Tsu bud tested at about 15% CBD.
Do these figures sound right? I’ll try a high THC strain next….It will be easier for me to gage results without testing.
Does anyone know more about the science of the freezer method? I also would like more info about the proper ratio of cannabis to alcohol. I’ve seen 6gms herb to 1oz alcohol. There’s no need to use more herb than the alcohol can absorb. I hate wasting my herb so I’m always trying to find folks who know the science. Thanks for this great website and for all the informative comments.
Going to pop on here for freezer love. Don’t worry, there’s a TL;DR. : )
To start with, I make tinctures as a use for my trim. I only use sugar leaves, nothing that’s dead or damaged, or isn’t covered densely with trichomes. No sticks either, due to the cheesecloth step. I use the nova to decarb, but I do pack it fairly tightly before I start (not worried about temperature penetration, as the cycle lasts~ 90 minutes.) If you’re using bud I’d grind it first for uniformity, it’ll help later in my process. After the nova cycle finshes I dump the decarb into a quart mason jar in the freezer, and put a quart of 200pf (NON denatured, USP) Ethanol in the freezer as well. The ethanol has to be as cold as the material and the jar before you start or you’ll miss the benefits of cold extraction. As needed I run the nova until I’m out of trim, and all material is very cold (as cold as my normal fridge- freezer gets). Then I pour the ethanol til it almost covers the trim (depends on how dense your material is at this point), cap the jar and shake it vigorously for 10 seconds. As long as the resulting slurry has no material above the ethanol, I put it back in the freezer to sit for 30 minutes. Then I shake vigorously again, and wait another 30 minutes, keeping the mixture as cold as possible. Just before the hour of contact time is up (imo even this may be unnecessarily long), I wet with ethanol a double layer of cheesecloth just large enough to fit the material mass and leave it in the freezer to chill for 5 minutes. I do the same to a coffee filter, metal coffee dripper, and new jar. When these items are effectively chilled and the hour of contact time is up, I put on a layer of nitrile gloves, followed by thin cheap winter gloves, followed by another layer of nitrile gloves. This provides insulation while still allowing for dexterity. Then, working quickly and still within the freezer, I uncap the mixture jar and pour as much as possible into the coffee filter, leaving the material behind. I close the door while the filter drains. When the jar is mostly empty of tincture and the filter is mostly drained, I put the cheesecloth over the mixture jar, flip it over the coffee filter, and let the mass/ mixture fill the cheesecloth and make a pouch on the bottom with the corners pulled up. Then I wring it into the coffee filter until the drippings get cloudy. After letting the coffee filter drain as cold as possible (door closed again), I remove the jar and pour the tincture into a shallow wide pyrex dish on the counter. I cover it in one layer of cheesecloth and set it next to a fan to evaporate off as much ethanol as possible. I stop when there is some thickness to it and jar it up. This is the best way to reach a high quality product with a high final concentration, though it may take many hours longer than applying heat with a double boiler etc. (If you want to speed it up, go for it! But NEVER apply heat *directly* to ethyl alcohol)
TL/DR Principles:
-Everything between decarb and the finish of the last filtering happens as cold as possible to avoid extracting oily plant waxes and bitter chlorophyll. In general, everything is less soluble when colder, but THC and various desireable terpenes will still dissolve much faster and more thoroughly than these undesirables at these temps. Furthermore…
-Keeping contact time to 1 hour ensures plant material has no real time to break down. When THC sits on the surface of the plant, there is no need to dissolve cell walls, because that’s not where the good stuff is.
-Use a high proof ethanol (200 if possible- always Non-Denatured). This allows for a higher finished concentration, as THC is insoluble in water so any water in your solute will limit its efficacy when extracting and capacity when evaporating the excess.
-Evaporating at room temperature increases final concentration while keeping alcohol-soluble terpenes intact for a naturally flavorful finished tincture, though takes significantly longer than double-boiler and similar methods.
Questions:
-Does anyone have a chart of the solubility (g/L) of THC in ethanol by temperature?
-To those using dry ice- what is the ambient temperature of the mixture when extracting? [I realize that dry ice evaporates at like -177F, but note that that’s not my question : D ]
-Are there any desirable compounds (cannabinoids, flavoring molecules) that are soluble in water, but are not soluble in ethyl alcohol?
Hit me up : )
So Why if your promoting the LEVO & have the form to win one & the package of stuff with it why do you not talk in any of your recipes about using the LEVO for making Glycerine Tincture? Do you use the LEVO even? I’ve yet to see one recipe where your using it as a machine for infusions. Do you actually own one? If you do then why not add it to your quick tincture or long tincture recipe above these comments? This seems very confusing to me I don’t really know what you relationship is with LEVO as you offer a discount on it & get a kickback on the ones they sell thru you but you don’t ever talk about using it or how you use it if you do. Any response? Thanks
Hi Kenneth!
I didn’t have a Levo when I made this post and I will update it with tincture recipes I made in the Levo. I got mine in July and have been using it like a madwoman. I LOVE it. 99% of the pics on this blog are of my copper beauty. They no longer sell that one, but have a rose gold one that took its place. I wrote a review about using the Levo and will update these old posts as time allows 🙂 I hope you have a great day!
Much love,
Corinne
There is no ratio. You pack the plant material into the Mason jar and pour in enough alcohol to completely cover the plant material. Cannibidoil extraction is complete in 20 minutes without ever freezing any of the components your using. You are chemically striping the compounds with the strongest solvent that a human can ingest. I learned this information from a study by Italian researchers that were testing the purity of different extraction methods, Rick Simpson Oil, Butane extraction, Acetone extraction, Ethanol extraction and infused Olive Oil. The research was to determine residual carcinogens in the final extract. Rick Simpson Oil extraction method was heavily laden with carcinogens(not the healthy medicine it was touted to be) acetone also left large numbers of carcinogens. Infused Olive Oil came in the cleanest with only the carcinogens inherent to the Olive Oil to begin with. Ethanol extraction was next cleanest after the infused oil.
I’m curious… I was planning on making some additional tincture for making gummies this weekend, and I still have about half a cup of tincture left over from last time. Can I just include that already infused tincture in my grain alcohol when I infuse a new batch? Will it increase it’s potency? Or is it inadvisable?
This is VERY informative! Thank you!!
I’m really excited to do all three tinctures and here is where I need some guidance…
Kief vs. Trim
I feel like I need to do both just to see the difference between the plant matter tincture and the trichome effect but I’m trying to figure out amounts of each to add to my tincture liquid. If I use 1oz of plant material per 2-3cups liquid, I’m assuming that is trim. What amount of Kief would you suggest I use per 2.3 cups liquid? I’ve decarbed 5g of it now and am hoping to start my steep soon… Any guidance would be great! And do you have any tcheck discount codes floating around? I’m thinking this is a must have for my small time edible making and sharing…
I love your website!!! I’m just starting my adventures with edibles.
I have a question, will too large of a jar effect my tintcure?
Nope 🙂
Wonderful site, thank you. I’m making tincture with CBD, 20/.8 ratio for a friend needing pain/anxiety relief. I’m using one once of CBD “chopped” in a blender, into a quart Mason jar, just covered with 80% organic vodka. It it possible for you to tell me how many ounces yield there will be, approximately?
Hello!!! Hope all is well, just wanted to say first off that you are amazing and keep doing what you’re doing because it is truly inspiring and I love/ appreciate every bit of it! For tincture use in general, can I use vegetable glycerin in my MB2? And would it still work with making gummies like when I use everclear? My everclear gummies have been amazing and I’ve been using small amounts of tincture in tea to make “twisted teas” and such! Thank you!!! ✌?❤️
How are you supposed to strain this glycerin tincture? Its way too thick to go through a coffee filter and the filter that came with my MBM is literally doing nothing. I feel like I’m just making a huge mess. The plant matter is so pulverized its going straight through the supplied filter. Any ideas would be helpful.
Summary of my last comment: It’s the magical butter maker, not the magical tincture maker. Just do another method, the MBM sucks for tinctures.
Am new and completely inexperienced in edibles of any type, but I recently came across a recipe for homemade vanilla extract made in an Instant Pot, using either glycerine, or 80 proof vodka. The recipe calls for 30 minutes at high pressure, which typically heats to 239-245 F (low pressure being 229-233 F). Would this method work for a weed infusion? Anyone ever tried? Or is the temp just too high?
Thanks for the discounts, ima hav to start with a smaller batch. How long is the shelf life on anyone of these? I ask cuz im only 1 man and it takes me a bit to smoke a Z an im one of those people’s who like to b HAF all the time LMAO.
Have you utilized your Levo to make tincture? And so what is your process? My mom is a bit afraid to use her machine to do it, and she was going to use the everclaear method for her gummies.
Thank you in advance!
Yes! You can definitely use the Levo for tinctures. However, do you want to make sure you keep your temperature setting below the boiling point of the alcohol. Here’s a link to a blog from Levo which I would recommend reading for some pointers.
I would like to use my Levo to make tincture. The above link to the blog from Levo states “page does not exist”. Do you happen to have a different link or instructions on how to use the Levo for tinctures?
While you can make sweet tinctures (honey) with the Levo, their site states they don’t recommend alcohol-based tinctures. I would assume due to temperature and possible combustion risk? Hope this answers your question.
I make a CBD tincture with fresh blueberries water and sugar and it works great for anxiety pain
Is there any recipe for making one with honey or other recipes using CBD into a tincture for sublingual use? My trim is very dry already do I need to decarbolize it.
Any help in answering any of this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Yes, decarbing is a must. Decarboxylation has nothing to do with the “dryness” of the material. The heat activates the cannabinoids so the body can process them better. Have you seen this post from Corinne?
Hi!
how would i calculate how strong my tincture is?
thanks! 🙂
We recommend using a tCheck if you really want an accurate potency. Otherwise you can use the Dosage Calculator at the top of the page.
How to sensibly buy LEGAL cbd oil? Because I got a letter saying customs has confiscated my package two times already and I’m pissed.
Purchase from a US-based source. I recommend Mary’s Nutritionals (sourced in Colorado), but there are several others out there.
FYI: This vegetable Glycerin has the words “USP food grade Vegetable Glycerin” on the label.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075WC51H5/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I will use it on my first Tincture using it.
My Vegetable Glycerin Tincture taste horrible. I ordered a dram of Cinnamon Oil Flavoring with the hope it may make the taste more palatable. Can anyone offer suggestions.
I used 24G of 27% THC cannabis in 2 cups of food grade Vegetable Glycerin (which taste quite bland itself). I used the Magical Butter 2 machine for an 8 hour run. My first dose was about 10 drops and it tasted horrible; I actually thought It destroyed my taste buds but thankfully my sense of taste came back after 14 hours (the next day).
Can anyone offer a solution to this fowl tasting oil. The Cannabis cost me $420 per oz and I’m limited to 1 oz per month so I don’t have more cannabis to try again with for another 35 days and the Tincture I made has a horrid taste. I’m not a cook and so don’t have any idea how to use the tincture in food to mask its putrid taste.
Thank you
Mike
That’s true you can control the quantity of tincture you are using as it is much easy to consume then the regular cannabis-based products like hashish, wax & edibles.
Plus you can use them with traditional alcohol beverages to create one.
Corrine,
Loving your website! I just made the glycerine tincture. And made your gummies from it. Both turned out great!!!
Only problem I had with your recipe is that it did not include, here, the method for those of us who have either chosen to purchase yet another gadget or that are not privileged enough with the ability to drop a hundred or two here and there for a new gadget.
I did, however, manage to find the instructions you wrote on another website (I lost the page and don’t recall the name of the page). Would you please make an update with BOTH methods. I’d like to patronize you through your website over you on other folks’ websites. 🙂
Thanks for the work you do!!!
If I have cured my herb properly, (mason jars), for approx. 6-7 months. Do I need to decarb before I attempt to make a tincture?
thanks
rs
Last week I placed 3 1/3 cup or rum with about 2 ounces of bud, as well as, 12 ounces of agave nectar in my magical butter machine on 160degrees for an hour. It was delicious, tasting like chocolate liquor. The high was great, took effect in about half hour. I then tried some 4 1/2 cups of vodka in the magical butter machine, along with 2 cups of agave nectar and 2 1/2 ounces of bud for 2 hours. The effect is pretty close to having a dab. One shot of this has been crazy good!
I would like to recommend a warning in regards to the use of glycerine. Unless the potency of your tincture is strong enough, or if your tollerance is high, glycerine can act as an irritant to your intestinal tract. This negates the anti-inflamatory properties of cannabis and can cause serious harm to your intestinal tract.
I would like for you to consider organic coconut derived MCT oil, instead. Do a two part extraction. First, create a base in a Magical Butter Machine. Filter it repeatedly, after running a full 8 hour cycle at 170 degrees. (Use decarboxylated, non-Cartel or crime derived organic flowers of your choice). Then, take this base and run it through several eight hour cycles in a Levo, with the strain you require. This will give you the closest thing to a potent MCT oil tincture. Note, this is more of an oral solution, but the potency and concentration, coupled with a medium chain triglyceride and sunflower lecethin, will allow it to absorb through the mucus membranes, and you will derive a sublingual benefit.
But, please stay away from veg glycerine. It will only cause you problems
Corrine, is there a point where your tincture is as saturated with cannabinoids. I’ve got a batch I’ve been making for nearly a year of AVB (already vaped bud) and it’s already pretty solid strength wise. I drained out all the AVB, and was thinking of adding a fresh oz to the same batch, but wasn’t sure if that would make it a lot stronger, or if there is a point of demising returns. Meaning I should just start a new batch instead.
This is a great question Sage! And the unsatisfying answer is… I have no idea. The saturation point of alcohol with THC hasn’t been publicly researched (to my knowledge), but when I find the answer to this one, I will share it with you guys asap <3
I don’t know the saturation point of ethanol. I believe it to be more of surface area to wash and winterize the trics off. In other words it would take less ethanol to break down sieve than it would the same amount of cannabinoids in flower. If that makes any sense.
Instead of adding new trim, try evaporating what you have until solids form. No science necessary, though I too would love a solubilty chart of THC in ethanol. Plus after you remove the tincture and let the remainder evaporate, you can dab the solids.
GREAT article! Question…I am about to give the “long steep” a go and wondered IF at any time in the process can I add X-amount of say lemon or orange essential oil to the tincture that I plan to leave for six months? Cheers
Thanks, I am new to the Oregon area
Thanks, I have learned so much from all of you. Have been making great tincture for me and my friends…wonderful for pain.
However, can someone clarify something for me please. I have a few people that just want CBD tincture…with no or very little HIGH. Do I achieve this by using a high CBD strain, like Charlotte’s Web or AC/DC, then don’t decarboxilate. So, I guess the question is, does green weed, not decarboxilated, have everything I want medicinally, but without the high?
thanks for your help
You never mention decarboxylation. Is that a no-no for the freezer method?
Hi Corinne,
I love your site lots of great info! I’m trying to make my first tincture and I’m not sure what a good ratio of weed to veg glycerine or alcohol would be? Also I am going to infuse using my nova lift, would it be benficial to also let it the tincture sit for a few weeks? Or is the heat infusion enough? Hopefully all that makes sense.
I decarbed 16 grams of my homemade kief and put that into 2 cups of Everclear. I put that into my Levo machine at 150 for 4 hours… wowsers! I can’t do the drops because it’s way too strong for me but I get rave reviews on it from people who try it and like it. For myself I do either bud or trim (decarbed) in the double pod with 2 cups of Everclear (or Clear Spring, whatever I can get my hands on) and do a 4 hour cycle in my Levo, dump the pod and refill and do another four hours… it comes out great for me. Thanks for all the tips and tricks at your blog!
could you evaporate all the alcohol over a low heat and for a little time? Then then you could add some mct oil (fractionated coconut oil) to replace the lost alcohol and re-dilute the cana-oil, again with a little heat. This would also decarb any remaining THCa, if any. It would then be much more palatable that way. mct oil is ideal for health issues and an awesome base for homemade tinctures.
A study by Italian researchers has shown that 2 washs with Ethanol(food grade alcohol like everclear) with a soak duration of 20 minutes each soak removes all the Cannibidoils from your plant material. Cannabis flower soaking in everclear more than a couple hours is leaving you an extract that is laden with compounds you may not want.
Hi, Corinne,
I would like to use a gram of CBD RSO edible cannabis extract to make up my own tincture at 20:1. Is it a matter of calculating volume, or is there more to it? The package says 50 servings and 11.5 mg of CBD per serving.
Great Stuff.. It seems, you have researched a lot before posting the blog. Thank you for sharing such a important information, as rarely people know this use of CBD. I know about CBD but not aware the CBD can be use in this way as well.
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Love your article. Do I need to decarb already vaped bud before making tincture?
Do you grind your leaf/buds before decarboxylating for tinctures? I read in the coconut oil infusion recipe not to finely grind. Your pictures look like it’s not ground for the tinctures. Thanks
I decarb 7 grams ,then use 2 oz.Gosling 151 rum(has nice smooth taste).Place in mason jar ,put in pan with water 1/2 way to cover and bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes.Allow to cool,strain and place in dropper bottle.I dry out the strained material place some in a tea ball along with a tea bag for a kickass blend
Hi Corinne – I saw in the post you said “Since writing this post, I’ve also done this in a mason jar in a crockpot” but the link does not seem to go to this – do you still have that somewhere? Cheers
I am looking to find the best alcohol to use when making a topical tincture spray from trim. I could use regular rubbing alcohol from the dollar store. But, I want to use something that doesn’t smell as strong. Any ideas?? I found Denatured Alcohol (Ethanol) do you think this will work?
I’ve used tincture before for migraines and it works very well, but I really don’t enjoy being high.
So, if I wanted non psychoactive effects and migraine relief, could I not decarb and achieve this?
?
Yep… or you can make it using CBD plant material to avoid the psychoactive element.
Thank you for this valuable information!
Can the Vegetable Glycerine Marijuana Tincture be used in the Suppository Recipe instead of cannabis coconut oil? Just use tincture and coconut butter? The reason I ask is because I already have tincture made and no access to more cannabis currently.
That link leads to a page saying Not Found…
How do you rest the potency of your tincture??
You can just infuse the fat that you are using to make a suave. Like if you use some coconut oil, cocoa butter etc. You do not have to mix a tincture in.
I have a question about the tincture. You said it can be put in a jar in a crock pot on low for 4 hours. Do you mean just the jar of tincture in a crock pot alone or does the crock pot have water in it?
The link on those directions isn’t working.
I want to go the Everclear route, but gave up booze a bunch of years ago. Can I simply evaporate longer (or over low heat/in Nova) to get the alcohol content down to a safe level. That is to say, I want all my high to come from the weed, and not the juice.
Hope you are doing well Corinne, keep that covid -19 at least 3 arms lengths away !!!!! hutch
Thanks hutch! Right back at ya 😀
xo,
Corinne
Hi Wendy, whatever you do, avoid putting your tincture too close to the stove. If you are using a 180 proof alcohol, it can ignite very quickly – and I mean just the fumes being around the burner. Stay safe 🙂
2 oz good weed (decarbed)
3 oz grain alcohol
Place ingredients into a magic butter machine. 4 hours at 130 deg. Then 4 more hours at 160 deg.
Strain
Yields about 2.5 oz “juice”
One half dropper is usually enough for me.
Hi, thank you for all the info you share! I am experimenting with making tinctures (i bought the nova and MB through your site), but there is so much info! I saw you said that you add honey to your Dragon Tincture to make it more palatable; can you add it to the entire tincture and store it like that or do you have to add it every time, directly in your mouth?
Hey Kerri!
Either would be okay, but I might leave the honey out to be able to add the tincture to other things if desired 🙂
I hope this helps!
-Maddie (Team Wake + Bake)
I thought the magic butter machine had a 2 cup minimum for liquid? Do you have any idea how strong this is? I have been following standard directions which seem to be 1 oz pot to 2 cups MCT oil or alochol; when i Made it with MCT oil, it tasted so bad and seemed very weak; your recipe looks strong AF. I am about a 25 mg person. Any info you could offer would be great! i am really overwhelmed.
Hey Kerri!
Hop over to our dosage calculator to plug in your own percentages to find out your dose 🙂
Hi Corrine!
So much about cannabis and that too with an addition of a wonderful recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Thank you, Steven!!
Hi – really loved this piece. Thank you so much. Wondering about your reference to Propylene Glycol. Can one make a tincture just by infusing decarbed cannabis with PG? Is that what Ardent is recommending for sublingual use as an alternative to a VG tincture? Thanks again.
Hey Aaron!
Maddie here (Corinne’s assistant)
We don’t recommend using Propylene Glycol, but instead MCT oil. We have an awesome post about PG in the pipeline so stay tuned!
I hope this helps!
Have a great day!
-Maddie (Team Wake + Bake)
Thanks so much, Maddie. I’ll try the MCT infusion and keep an eye out for the PH post. Take care.
A
I think I got to excited and didn’t read enough about lecithin. Added it to my tincture before straining. Did I mess up?
I find this very interesting. Can you write some helpful tips on how to buy good quality tincture online especially during this pandemic? I’ve read from Speed Greens that they are campaigning about it. I hope you can join,
Hey Samuel,
For hemp products and tinctures, we recommend Sacred Smoke Herbals (use code WAKEANDBAKE for a discount!)
https://sacredsmokeherbals.com
For THC tinctures, we recommend making your own or purchasing from a dispensary 🙂
I hope this helps!
I would not use MCT oil in a cartridge. A dispensary should not be doing that either. Google it — there is nothing to suggest that it’s safe.
Thanks for all the great info Corinne! I’m trying to give my throat and lungs a break but still want to be able to medicate as needed, so I found this post very helpful. I tried my hand at making the Ice Dragon tincture from a different post that Fiona made. I made it with Everclear and it came out a beautiful golden color, but as expected it burned like heck to try to take sublingual. Reading through the comments I’ve seen others ask and your recommendation is to evaporate off the alcohol, so that’s what I’m doing now. My stove is gas (so I can’t avoid having an open flame at least once or twice a day while cooking food) and my house has poor ventilation, not to mention it’s summer so no way I’m opening up my window for my AC to be wasted. So, that leaves me with a long/slow process of trying to just let the alcohol evaporate with little to no added heat. It’s taking forever but I’m hoping it’s worth it in the end. Just curious if you have any experience with evaporating a certain percentage down, say 50% evaporated and how much less that might burn. Or is it going to burn regardless of how much you evaporate down if you don’t mix with something else? Any help there would be great! By the way I also decided to take your advice and buy the Magical Butter Machine using your discount code 🙂 thanks for that, can’t wait for it to arrive in a few days and I’ll try making a few more tinctures then.
Thank you, TT!
Maddie here (Corinne’s assistant)
Another thing you can try is mixing the tincture with water, juice, or honey. When taking tinctures sometimes I fill my mouth with water before dropping the tincture.
I am not sure what methods you’ve used but you could try putting the tincture in an open bowl and put a small fan by it to help evaporate more quickly.
I hope this helps!
Always feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions 🙂
-Maddie (Wake+Bake Support)
Hi Corrine
I am a fan of your website and often refer to it for resource and information. so, thank you for a reliable and helpful site.
I have been making tinctures following your recipe. The tincture I am making is THC focused. I use kief and sugar leaf. I marinade for about 2 weeks.
I have a friend, and his girlfriend as well, who feels the medicinal effects while very little of the psychoactive. This same tincture with the same amount of dosage in most other partakers gives a great psychoactive high. I cannot figure out what is going on. I have done a fair bit of “googling” and am coming up with nothing.
Is this related to body metabolism?
Many thanks
Mary
Hi Mariela!
Maddie here (Corinne’s assistant)
Great question!
There are many things that could go into that! Everyone’s body is different, could be a liver/ metabolism/ tolerance issue.
I hope this helps!
Let me know at [email protected] if you have more questions 🙂
Can you make anything that doesn’t contain alcohol? I am on AIP and can not smoke it as well.
Hey there! We have plenty of oil infusion recipes on the blog and in our eCookbook Dazed + Infused 🙂
Hello! Been making tinctures using everclear. I thought I would evaporate some of the liquid from my 2 month old tincture. I took the top off and within a short time, the liquid evaporated into the plant matter! It was made from a 1/2 oz of decarbed weed and enough everclear to cover it plus about an inch? Extra. The only thing I can think of is replacing the liquid with more everclear or maybe water? To reconstitute it. Will using everclear make it double alcohol strength?
I’ve been making THC tinctures for a while with 190 proof alcohol. Everywhere I read mentions using a ball mason jar to store and shake it up in. I noticed after letting mine sit for several days and shaking it three times a day that the inner ring of the lid had degraded/changed color (only a small inner ring that was exposed to the alcohol). My question is do you think the sealant from the lid in the mason jar is leaching into my tincture? What could I do to avoid this? When I filtered my last batch out with a coffee filter I noticed the insulin almost looked like the same beige/orange color of the seal on the mason jar. These are brand new never been used jars. Thanks again for any help and information. Happy tincturing!
Great question. Shaking up all of that high proof alcohol could definitely be corroding your jar lids. Unfortunately, the only other alternative is plastic lids (hopefully one day they’ll make these out of hemp plastics). I usually use the plastic lids and typically don’t shake vigorously when I’m making longer steeped tinctures, because the alcohol is doing most of the work. Instead, I give them a little swirl just to mix up the plant material a few times. I’ve also noticed lately that higher proof alcohols don’t necessarily make a stronger tincture. Usually, they’re unpalatable and need to be diluted in order to take the tincture sublingually. I’ve also gravitated toward making MCT “tinctures” to be taken sublingually because they can be held for longer and seem to give similar effects to alcohol based tinctures. I hope that helps. Keep us posted on how your experimenting goes!
I make my tincture with 151 rum in a mason jar on an electric stove.Simmer at 165 degrees for 30 minutes.Very pleased with the results.
Could you link or email the lids you use for your mason jars? Thanks again for your help. I also had the same question about the smaller amber and cobalt bottles with nitrile kids. I didn’t know if that would cause an issue while storing as well.
It looks like they redesigned them since I last ordered and made them black and “leak proof”, but I usually buy mine from ball: https://amzn.to/2J5Kzqc
I’m ordering some now to see how the new improved lids are. I haven’t had any issues with my other tincture bottles corroding so far, but if you have issues with it, I’d love to know so we can make a note in the post.
1 year before i was thinking tincture and cbd are same. but bot are different. Thanks for the article
Hi Wendy. Just read your comment and will try your method.
I do have one question for you. If strong alcohol (196 proof) is used, when you evaporate part of it (as you suggest) the tincture will still be almost 196 proof so it should not get any gentler (since a 196 proof drink is 98% alcohol and 2% water, you are basically evaporating alcohol and retaining alcohol). And here is the question: if I were to use a 196 proof alcohol, I could add the given amount of water that I intend to remain with to fill the dropper bottles, and then, having mixed the “spiced” alcohol with water I could put it over a gentle heat until all the alcohol (or the percentage desired) is evaporated, then I could even produce a 0 proof tincture?
I read you can add honey to make the tincture taste better. Can you explain more on how you add that and does that effect the CBDmg per teaspoon? I also read that you can add other ingredients to the mix. In that case should you still fill the container halfway with everything or halfway with bud first then add the other ingredients? Last question, is there a way to test the CBDmg per teaspoon after?
Hi Jecilyn!
I would make the tincture first using only CBD and then add your other ingredients after that.
It makes it a lot easier to keep track of your dosage and you have the flexibility of changing your recipe.
If you do mix it with honey, the dosage won’t change just the volume of your syrup.
Warmly,
Victoria (Team Wake + Bale)
I made a batch of Ice Dragon with an ounce of Dream Queen and a pint of 190 proof Everclear. I left it in the freezer for about 10 days and then strained it into a jar, put cheese cloth to cover and put it in the garage so some of the alcohol could evaporate. Life caught up with me and I forgot about it for about 4 weeks. I now have about 2 ounces left in the jar. My question is will this now be a super concentrated tincture? Should I I dilute it down with more alcohol? Any help would be appreciated!
Thank you! Doug
Hi Doug!
Yes, your tincture will be much more potent now.
I would either take less or dilute it as you suggested.
I hope this helps!
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
How about using a Sous Vide to create the tincture?
Hi Nick!
I’m so sorry, but we have not tried that product/technique before!
The only thing I would worry about is making it in a plastic bag.
Warmly,
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
Any tips on having the alcohol tincture not burning so much when taking sublingual?
I seem to feel the burn for days.
Hi Patrick!
Yes! You can mix your tincture with something sweet (like honey) if you’re just going to take it sublingually.
You and also go down in the alcohol proof, that might help also, or switch to an oil base.
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
I am a little confused 🙁
The article says tinctures in less than 24 hours, but all the other info says to let sit for at least 2 days. What am I missing? Thank you for sharing!!
great blog
I believe this method is very beneficial since it pulls many other benefits from the plant. However, if you have someone that is a recovered alcoholic that won’t use it due to the process is there a way to remove the alcohol from the tincture without destroying all of the other benefits?
Hi Laura!
You can let most of the alcohol evaporate, leaving a very potent tincture.
Although there will be some alcohol left over.
If the alcohol in it is a very big concern, you could make it with MCT oil instead.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Victoria (Team Wake + Bake)
Really super information. When it comes to what alcohol to use: You have mentioned Vodka, Brandy and Everclear. And Everclear being the “best” alcohol to use. How about Stroh Rum (160 proof /80 %)? I cant get any Everclear where I live… And how about the smell of the Tincture? I have some people in my surroundings asking about some kind of smell…
Hey Alexander!
I’m sure Stroh Rum can be a substitute, we just haven’t used it ourselves.
As far as the alcohol smell of the tincture, there are a few things you can do to evaporate the smell of the alcohol. One way is placing the tincture in a bowl with a fan next to it.
I hope this helps.
If you have more questions, feel free to email [email protected] and we will answer to the best of our knowledge 🙂
All the best,
Maddie (Team W+B)
how did it come out? Would you share you recipe for the salve?
I did the same method and used a bowl of hot water to evaporate my tincture. It became cloudy and not clear like after straining it. Did yours do the same and if so do you know why it did that?
Can I add more flower to the tincture by redoing the first steps? Will reheating the current non alcohol tincture to absorb the new described flower reduce the potency? I made a mistake in my current recipe and put half of what it should’ve had.
Thanks
JP
I read at another site that the recipe was 1/8 oz cannabis and 3oz of ever clear. Wonder how that would work?
If I’m looking to get to the THCA I wouldn’t decant. Just put bud in everclear?
Curious if you’ve done anything with THCa, ect… I’ve been trying to research the benefits them and how to possibly best consume them without decarb.
Yes! I make THCa, CBDa, and CBGa tinctures. Is this something you’d like a recipe for?
With love,
Corinne