How to Make a Cannabis Tincture: Easy Cold Alcohol Extraction

By Deanna Talerico updated Aug. 9th, 2023, published Mar. 29th, 2022

Come learn how to make your own homemade cannabis tincture using a simple cold alcohol (ethanol) extraction method with our step-by-step guide. I’ve included plenty of photos to make the process as clear and easy to follow as possible. There is also a printable summary at the end – though I don’t think you’ll want to miss the extra tips in the body of the post.

Tinctures are a convenient, discreet, and easy way to enjoy your plant medicine. It’s kinder to your lungs than smoking or vaporizing, and offers more controlled and consistent dosing compared to smoking or homemade edibles. (I love that I can take just a few drops if needed.) You can use this homemade cannabis tincture recipe with any of your favorite cannabis strains, with CBD hemp only, or like we do – with homegrown herb!

What is a cannabis tincture?

A cannabis tincture is a concentrated alcohol-based cannabis extract, often referred to as “Green Dragon” among the cannabis community. High percentage alcohol is used as a solvent to extract the medicinal compounds (cannabinoids and terpenes) from the plant flower or “buds”. Though tinctures are essentially cannabis-infused alcohol, you do not get drunk since only a tiny amount is consumed.

Cannabis tinctures are highly therapeutic. Studies show that cannabis can be used to soothe a wide variety of physical and mental ailments, including sleep disorders, stress, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, muscle tension, joint pain, migraine headaches, inflammation, seizures, cancer, chronic pain and more. Cannabis tinctures can contain THC only (such as THC isolate), a blend of THC and CBD, or CBD alone.

When it comes to CBD, I always use my favorite certified organic full-spectrum CBD oil from NuVita. It’s federally-legal and is the most effective, potent and pure CBD oil I’ve ever tried. It does wonders for my anxiety, TMJ, and sleep issues! (Use code “deannacat” or this link to save 10% off) But if we want something with THC, we make our own tinctures using homegrown cannabis. It’s fun, rewarding, and a great way to save money!

A birds eye view of an amber glass dropper that is laying on its side with various cannabis flowers surrounding it on all sides.

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What type of alcohol to make homemade cannabis tincture?

It is best to use either 190 to 200-proof food grade ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol) or 190-proof Everclear alcohol for this cannabis tincture recipe. Both are strong natural solvents that will effectively strip and separate the desired cannabinoids from the plant material. We use this USDA organic ethanol. It is pure food-grade grain alcohol, and doesn’t contain any additives or water!

Lower-proof alcohol (e.g. 80 proof vodka) is a weaker solvent and also has a higher water content than ethanol, which can interfere with the extraction and tincture-making process. You technically can make homemade cannabis tincture with vodka or other lower proof liquor, but it requires additional steps that we aren’t going to cover in this article.

Do not use rubbing alcohol.

A birds eye view image of a hand holding a quart jar of Culinary Solvent organic 200 proof non denatured ethyl alcohol. Flanking the top of the bottle are two separate containers, one is filled with decarbed cannabis and the other is full of the ethyl alcohol. — This 200-proof organic ethanol alcohol is a great option!

What type of cannabis should I use?

It’s important to use decarbed cannabis in this homemade cannabis tincture recipe. If you’re not familiar with decarboxylation, it’s essentially the process of heating cannabis to “activate” it (explained more below). When exposed to heat, raw forms of THCA, CBDA, and other cannabinoids are converted to their active forms of THC and CBD – making it psychoactive as well as more therapeutic. (It’s the same reaction that occurs when you heat cannabis via smoking or vaporizing, and why eating raw bud doesn’t get you high).

Aside from that, use whatever cannabis you prefer or have on hand! Choose a strain (or combination of a couple) with traits you personally desire from your homemade cannabis tincture. We use what we grow: well-rounded sativa/indica hybrids that also offer a good amount of CBD. Learn how to grow your own organic cannabis at home here, and shop for seeds here.

For the most therapeutic tincture, I recommend using strains with a well-balanced THC to CBD ratio. If you’re looking for daytime relief with less mental effects, choose a CBD-dominant strain. Yes, you can totally use this cannabis tincture recipe with CBD hemp alone!

A chart diagram that shows the different benefits that different cannabinoids have with many physical and mental health problems people can have. Between CBD, THC, CBG, CBN, and other less known cannabinoids, CBD is the only only one that helps with every condition on the chart such as anti inflammatory, relieves pain/anxiety, antibacterial, inhibits cell growth in tumors/cancer etc. The only condition it doesn't help is stimulating appetite.

Why freeze alcohol and cannabis for extraction?

This homemade cannabis tincture recipe uses a cold ethanol extraction method, also referred to as quick wash ethanol extraction or “QWET”. Freezing the cannabis makes the trichomes detach from the plant material more efficiently. When mixed with cold ethanol, the desirable cannabinoids and terpenes readily extract and combine with the alcohol – resulting in a stronger, better tincture.

Furthermore, keeping the mixture at a very low temperature helps reduce the amount of undesirable compounds in your tincture, such as lipids and chlorophyll. It’s a chemistry thing, but basically the freezing temperature influences the polarity of the lipids and chlorophyll so they’re more likely to stay bound to the plant material (and therefore get filtered out) rather than combining with the ethanol.

When done right, the resulting filtered tincture wash will be clear and golden in color rather than cloudy or green.

Supplies Needed to Make a Homemade Cannabis Tincture

8 grams of decarbed cannabis
6 ounces of 190 to 200-proof food grade ethyl alcohol (ethanol ) or 190 proof Everclear
Freezer-safe glass containers, such as wide-mouth pint mason jars or half-pint jars with lids.
Small unbleached coffee filters, like these ones
Cheesecloth
Digital Scale
Dropper bottles to store your finished tincture. We like these 2-ounce amber bottles; the droppers have mL markers on them for accurate dosing.

Yields: 2 ounces of homemade cannabis tincture

Please note that this is a two-day process, though ingredients are just sitting in the freezer for 97% of that time.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Decarb your cannabis

To decarb cannabis, start by tearing up the buds into fairly small pieces. Then spread it out evenly on a baking sheet. For THC-dominant strains, heat the cannabis in the oven at 250°F for 25 to 30 minutes. For high-CBD strains, bake it for 40 to 50 minutes at the same temperature. (It takes slightly longer for CBDA to convert to CBD than THCA to THC does.) If you’re using a well-balanced THC:CBD strain, meet in the middle at 30 to 35 minutes. See this article for a more in-depth look at decarbing cannabis.

Don’t want to stink up the house? Consider using an Ardent Nova device for an easy, nearly odor-free decarboxylation experience. We just got one recently and love it!

Note that your cannabis will decrease in weight slightly during the decarb process (as it gets more dry). So, start with a few extra grams so you’ll end up with the 8 grams needed for this cannabis tincture recipe. Or, bake plenty so you have enough leftover to make homemade cannabis oil or topical salve!

A pint mason jar is on its side with decarboxylated cannabis flowers spilling out of it onto a washed concrete surface. The flowers have a darker golden brown hue to them after decarboxylation. The cannabis is now ready to make homemade cannabis tincture.

Step 2: Freeze Cannabis and Alcohol (separately)

Use a scale to weigh out 8 grams of decarbed cannabis. Add the cannabis to a freezer-safe glass container with a lid. We like to use a wide-mouth pint glass jar. (Even though it seems more than large enough, the extra room in the jar makes it easier to shake compared to a half-pint jar.) Next add 6 ounces of ethanol to a separate freezer-safe container. Do not mix the alcohol and cannabis yet. Put both containers in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

A half pint mason jar is on the left filled with ethyl alcohol, to the right is a pint mason jar with 8 grams of decarbed cannabis in it, behind and in between the two mason jars is a quart bottle of 200 proof ethyl alcohol. — 6 ounces of ethanol and 8 grams of decarbed cannabis about to go into the freezer (with lids on).

Step 3: Combine Cannabis and Alcohol (First Wash)

After the initial 24 hours (or longer) is up, remove the cannabis and alcohol from the freezer. Pour ONLY HALF of the cold alcohol (3 ounces) into the container of frozen cannabis. Add a lid and shake vigorously for 5 minutes. Wrap the jar in a kitchen towel if it’s too cold to comfortably hold.

This process extracts the cannabinoids and terpenes from the plant material, and is considered the “first wash”. We’ll do two rounds total.

Now return the cannabis-alcohol mixture as well as the separate remaining 3 ounces of plain alcohol to the freezer for an additional 2 hours.

A four part birds eye view image collage, the first image shows a decarbed cannabis sitting in a mason jar with the word "dry" at the bottom of the image. The second image shows the jar with the decarbed cannabis and ethyl alcohol in it with the words "add alcohol" at the bottom of the image. The third image shows the cannabis and alcohol mixture from the top and the cannabis is broken down into smaller pieces. The words "After 5 minutes of shaking" are on the bottom of the image. The fourth image shows the jar from the side, it shows a greenish liquid with the plant material sitting on the bottom, some of the plant material is stuck around the edges of the jar. — After the first shake, return this to the freezer.

Step 4: Shake and Strain

Once the two hours are up, it’s time for another shake – and then we strain! Remove the jar of mixed cannabis and alcohol from the freezer, and shake it again for an additional 5 minutes. (We don’t need the jar of plain alcohol at this time.)

Next we’re going to strain the tincture through two mediums: cheesecloth first to filter the larger plant material, and then a finer coffee filter to further remove unwanted lipids and other residue.

First set up the coffee filter straining station. We find it easiest to set a small coffee filter in the top of a separate clean pint glass jar, fold it over the rim of the jar, and then screw on a lid ring to hold it in place. The cannabis tincture takes a while to seep through the filter, so holding it by hand isn’t fun.

Next, put cheesecloth over the jar that contains the cannabis-alcohol mixture (we use the ring trick again) and slowly pour it through the cheesecloth and into the coffee filter jar. See the photos below.

Now return the jar of remaining cannabis to the freezer while the first wash liquid is straining through the coffee filter (about 10 minutes).

A four part image collage of the filtering process of making homemade cannabis tincture. The first image shows a pint mason jar, a hand holding a brown coffee filter, and a mason jar ring laying next to the jar. The second image shows two pint mason jars, one has greenish liquid in the bottom with a cheesecloth affixed to the top being secured with a lid ring. The other mason jar has a coffee filter affixed in a similar manner with a lid ring. The third image shows a hand pouring the greenish liquid through the cheesecloth, into the mason jar with the coffee filter. The fourth image shows the lone jar with coffee filter as some liquid is pooled in the coffee filter while what has been already filtered is sitting in the bottom of the jar.

Step 5: Second Wash & Strain

Now it’s time for the second and final wash. This step helps extract any final remaining cannabinoids from the plant material into your homemade cannabis tincture.

Grab the jar of cannabis that was in the freezer while the first wash strained (for about 10 minutes) and then repeat the washing/straining process from steps 3 and 4. Add the remaining 3 ounces of cold plain alcohol to the cannabis jar, add a lid, shake vigorously for 5 minutes, and strain through the cheesecloth and coffee filter once again – pouring it into the same filter and jar as the first wash.

A pint mason jar with a cheesecloth attached to the rim of the jar is pouring liquid into another pint mason jar with a coffee filter around the rim of the jar. There is some golden liquid at the bottom of the jar with the filter. — Adding the second wash to the same jar/filter as the first wash.

A two part image collage, the first image is a birds eye view of the top of a mason jar. It has a coffee filter sitting in the top of it with the lid ring attached around the outside of the jar. Homemade cannabis tincture is a pool in the filter, it is slowly being filtered through the coffee filter. The second image shows a birds eye view of the top of a mason jar. It has a coffee filter sitting in the top of it with the lid ring attached around the outside of the jar. The homemade cannabis tincture has filtered through the coffee filter, leaving behind brown residue (lipids, fats, and other residue). — Check out all the fats, lipids, and other residue left behind in the coffee filter after straining!

Step 6: Reduce

After all the liquid has strained through the coffee filter into the jar, it’s time to reduce it by about half the volume. Excess alcohol will easily evaporate off, and the result is a more concentrated and effective homemade cannabis texture.

Do this by simply allowing the jar to sit out at room temperature with the lid off for several hours. We place the jar in front of a fan to help expedite the process. Note the volume of liquid in the container when you start (use a rubber band around the jar, or a glass marking pen). Keep an eye on it! Once it reduces by half, add a lid to stop further evaporation – or go ahead and bottle your final homemade cannabis tincture.

A two part picture collage, the first picture shows a pint mason jar filled to about the 5 ounce line with golden brown liquid, a rubber band is wrapped around the fill line to mark where the top of the liquid is. The second image shows the same pint mason jar a number of hours later. The liquid is much darker in color now and has reduced to just over 2 ounces.

Step 7: Bottle and Store

Once it’s reduced by half, transfer the strained cannabis extract to a final storage bottle – such as these amber glass dropper bottles. Amber bottles are ideal since they reduce light exposure, which degrades cannabinoids. Store the bottle in the refrigerator for the best long-lasting quality. Congratulations, you just made a homemade cannabis tincture! Keep reading for usage and dosing information.

Homemade cannabis tincture being poured from a pint mason jar through a small stainless steel funnel into an amber glass dropper bottle.

How to Use or Take a Cannabis Tincture

You can consume your cannabis tincture either under your tongue (sublingually) or mixed with a beverage (oral ingestion). Sublingual consumption will result in more immediate effects, while oral ingestion will have a slower onset but longer-lasting results. See the graphic below.

However, proceed with some caution! 200 proof ethanol is very strong, and I find it causes a burning sensation when applied straight under my tongue. To avoid that, I put a very small amount of water in my mouth first, squirt in the tincture, hold the diluted mixture in my mouth for a few minutes, and then swallow. Therefore my intake is mostly sublingual, but with a little oral ingestion too.

A diagram showing three ways of ingesting cannabis and the onset and duration of the experience. It shows that inhaled cannabis and sublingual cannabis effects are more similar in their effects while oral cannabis consumption is a slower onset, with a longer peak and duration of effects. — Chart courtesy of Periodic Edibles

Strength and Dosing for Homemade Cannabis Tincture

When first trying your tincture, I suggest to start low and go slow. Without lab testing, it’s difficult to say exactly how potent a homemade cannabis tincture is. There are simply too many factors: the initial cannabinoid concentration and strain you used, how long and hot you decarbed it, the efficacy of your ethanol extraction process, and how much it was reduced at the end.

Start with a few drops, and then gradually increase the amount to find your “sweet spot” and desired results. (But wait a couple hours to see how you feel before taking more.) With this recipe, a quarter dropper is a fairly conservative starting point. I personally like to take .25 mL or a quarter dropper (though I’ve taken more just fine) while Aaron prefers about .5 mL or half a dropper. That’s just enough to take the edge off, relax our muscles, and help us sleep better without being too stony.

A dropper is held suspended over an amber colored dropper bottle, the dropper is filled with more than .5 mL of homemade cannabis tincture which is a clear golden color.

That was fairly simple, right?

Well folks, I hope this tutorial was easy to follow – and will enable you to successfully make your own cannabis tinctures at home now. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. If you found this information useful, please consider leaving a rating/review and pinning or sharing this post. We greatly appreciate you tuning in today. Now go have fun making your own medicinal Green Dragon!

Don’t miss these related posts:

An amber colored dropper bottle has the dropper portion positioned next to it, the dropper if full of golden liquid, beyond are a few flowers that are scattered about.

Homemade Cannabis Tincture Recipe

Come learn how to make your own homemade cannabis tincture (aka Green Dragon) using a simple cold alcohol (ethanol) extraction method.

4.72 from 281 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Total Time 1 3

Servings ounces

Equipment

2 freezer-safe glass containers, such as wide-mouth pint mason jars or half-pint jars
1 small unbleached coffee filter
cheesecloth
digital scale
Baking sheet
freezer
bottle for final storage, such as 2-ounce amber dropper bottles

Ingredients

8 grams decarbed cannabis
6 ounces 200-proof food grade eylth alcohol (ethanol) or 190-proof Everclear alcohol

Instructions

Decarb your raw cannabis. Tear it up into fairly small pieces and spread on a baking sheet. For THC-dominant strains, heat the cannabis in the oven at 250°F for 25 to 30 minutes. For high-CBD strains, bake for 40 to 50 minutes and 30 to 35 minutes for a well-balanced THC:CBD strain. (I suggest starting with a few more than 8 grams since it will get lighter as it dries.)
Add 8 grams of decarbed cannabis to a freezer-safe glass container with a lid, and 6 ounces of ethanol to a separate freezer-safe container. Put both containers in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
First Wash: After the initial 24 hours (or longer), remove the cannabis and alcohol from the freezer. Pour only HALF of the cold alcohol (3 ounces) into the container of frozen cannabis. Add a lid and shake vigorously for 5 minutes. Now return the cannabis-alcohol mixture as well as the separate remaining 3 ounces of plain alcohol to the freezer for an additional 2 hours.
After two hours, remove the jar of mixed cannabis and alcohol from the freezer and shake it again for an additional 5 minutes. Then strain the mixture twice: first through a cheesecloth and then through a coffee filter into a separate clean container (as shown in this article). Return the jar of remaining cannabis to the freezer while the liquid is straining through the coffee filter (about 10 minutes).
Second Wash: Grab the jar of cannabis that was in the freezer while the first wash strained (for about 10 minutes) and then repeat the washing/straining process from steps 3 and 4. Add the remaining 3 ounces of cold plain alcohol to the cannabis jar, add a lid, shake vigorously for 5 minutes, and strain through the cheesecloth and coffee filter once again – pouring it into the same filter and jar as the first wash.
Reduce the liquid by half via evaporation. Simply set the jar out at room temperature with the lid off for several hours, or place in front of a fan to expedite the process. Note the volume of liquid in the container when you start. Once it reduces by half, add a lid to stop further evaporation – and/or transfer your finished tincture into it's final storage bottle.
Store your homemade cannabis tincture in an opaque glass bottle in the refrigerator. We recommend 2-ounce amber dropper bottles.
Consume the tincture either under your tongue (sublingually) or mixed with a beverage (oral ingestion). Sublingual consumption will result in more immediate effects, while oral ingestion will have a slower onset but longer-lasting effects. **Please see notes of caution and additional information on usage/dosing below.

Notes

Usage and Dosing:

**Ethanol alcohol is very strong and may cause a burning sensation when applied straight under the tongue. To avoid that, I put a very small amount of water in my mouth first, squirt in the tincture, hold the diluted mixture in my mouth for a few minutes, and then swallow. Therefore my intake is mostly sublingual, but with a little oral ingestion too.
Re: Dosage, start low and go slow. Start with a few drops, and then gradually increase the amount to find your “sweet spot” and desired results. (But wait a couple hours to see how you feel before taking more.) With this recipe, a quarter dropper is a fairly conservative starting point.

Keyword cannabis tincture alcohol, ethanol extraction cannabis tincture, green dragon recipe, homemade cannabis tincture, how to make cannabis tincture

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

487 Comments

Julie

December 11, 2024 at 12:32 pm Reply

I’ve made this recipe, very potent and good! I saw a recipe for tincture using 200 proof culinary alcohol and only washing it for three minutes, theory being that at 200 proof the alcohol will dissolve the cannibinoids in a short amount of time. Have you tried that and if so what are your thoughts? Thank you!
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  December 12, 2024 at 7:31 am Reply
  
  Hi Julie, I think it’s likely worth a shot to try it out but it’s not something we have tried personally, even our recipe is fairly quick and only involves 10 minutes of your time actively shaking the container. Let us know how it turns out for you and good luck!
Leland Roberts

November 19, 2024 at 4:02 pm Reply

Hi Aaron. I followed the process through final straining. Insted of evaporating off half the tincture (while I tried, I think it was too cool and I didn’t use a fan), I froze the original tincture and used it to wash a 2nd batch of decarbed bud, repeating the process entirely.
The original, un-reduced tincture was about as strong as a THC tincture I got at a dispensary. I’ll be trying the 2nd run extraction here shortly.
Do you have reason to believe the resulting tincture shouldn’t be twice as strong? Any other reason for not trying this method?
Thanks.
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  November 20, 2024 at 6:40 am Reply
  
  Hi Leland, it sounds like your tincture should be more or less twice as strong after using the original for a second extraction run. Just start small when first dosing until you are fully aware of the strength of the tincture. Good luck!
Susan

September 26, 2024 at 2:26 pm Reply

So, why do some recipes call to steep it for 2-6 weeks and this one is done in one day?
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  September 26, 2024 at 3:31 pm Reply
  
  Hi Susan, because this uses the Quick Wash Extraction Technique (QWET), the cannabis and alcohol being at freezing temperatures before the wash allows for the cannabinoids to be stripped in a shorter period of time.
Jonathan

September 9, 2024 at 3:40 pm Reply

Thank you for all the great information and advice.
Deanna mentioned the tincture burning when put under the tongue. Do you think there is any downside to diluting the tincture 50/50 with purified water, so it would be a more manageable 100 proof? Or maybe even diluting it a bit more? Would that interfere with its shelf life?
Thanks!
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  September 10, 2024 at 8:56 am Reply
  
  Hi Jonathan, adding water to the entire tincture itself would likely interfere with the shelf life of the tincture. When I take a dose of the tincture, I like to take a small drink of water and take the dose of tincture while the water is still in my mouth. From there, you can either swish it around a bit if you want to take the dose sublingually or just swallow it for an oral dose. In all, diluting each dose as needed is the easiest way to reduce the burn while still maintaining the integrity of the tincture. Hope that helps and good luck!
Julian

September 8, 2024 at 4:46 pm Reply

Hi! One other question – is it ok to work in larger sized batches? I have 2 oz of avb that I would like to make into tincture all at once. Is there anything that needs to be done differently (i.e. longer soaks and/or freeze time)? TIA!
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  September 9, 2024 at 7:02 am Reply
  
  Hi Julian, you just need to increase the alcohol per amount of AVB you are using. You may want to use at least two jars for straining as it can take some time for the alcohol extraction to filter through the coffee filter and you may have more liquid than one filter can hold at a time. That is really the only step that may need modification so the whole process doesn’t take longer than necessary, good luck!
  - Steve
    
    October 14, 2024 at 7:36 pm Reply
    
    Great article and very informative.
    I have a question.
    Can you decarb your flower directly in the alcohol (everclear) by heating up the alcohol while the flower is in it? Basically skipping the oven decarbing process.
    Thanks,
    Steve
    - Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
      
      October 15, 2024 at 7:32 am Reply
      
      Hi Steve, no I wouldn’t decarb directly in the alcohol as alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than even water and your alcohol would likely burn off before the decarb process was complete. Also, you should never use any form of gas heat when working with alcohol due to it being extremely flammable, electric heat would be the only way to go. If you were making cannabis oil or butter, you could likely get away with not decarbing beforehand and just let it steep/cook in a crockpot for 8-12 hours. If you are going to be making a lot of edibles, tinctures, or salves going forward, getting an electric decarboxylator could be worth the investment, we have this one and it makes decarbing very easy and less stinky. We usually just use the machine in a spare bedroom with the windows open and your entire house doesn’t end up smelling, plus it does a great job decarbing. Hope that helps and good luck!
Florian

August 10, 2024 at 4:34 am Reply

Looking forward trying this recipe in the next days.

One question regarding the 2nd wash. Do I put the Cannabis – Alcohol mixture again in the freezer for 2 hours or just one 5 minute shake?
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  August 10, 2024 at 6:48 am Reply
  
  Hi Florian, during the second wash, you just combine the cannabis and remaining alcohol, shake for five minutes, then strain and filter. Hope that helps and enjoy your tincture.
  - susan
    
    September 26, 2024 at 2:09 pm Reply
    
    it’s confusing if you add the second half (3oz) of alcohol to the buds or to the first cannabis/alcohol blend that got strained?
    - Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
      
      September 26, 2024 at 3:33 pm Reply
      
      Hi Susan, you are doing two separate washes with the plant material using 3 ounces of alcohol each time. The first wash gets most of the cannabinoids but the second wash will help extract whatever is left, the second wash gets added to the first afterwards, filtering it through the cheesecloth and coffee filter.
Tigerlily

June 13, 2024 at 8:12 pm Reply

I’ve been making this recipe close to 2 years and it’s an incredible product. It’s simple, unfussy and potent.

Small tip I recommend is to presoak the cheesecloth and coffee filter in solvent so it’s not absorbing your tincture at first pour.

Thanks so much for this.
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  June 14, 2024 at 6:26 am Reply
  
  Great tip on soaking the filter and cheesecloth beforehand with your solvent, thanks for sharing!
Diane

June 13, 2024 at 10:06 am Reply

Hi Aaron, Thank you for the recipe and for patiently answering our questions! I used your recipe when I started making tincture and it worked very well, even the evaporating was done in about 4 hours by putting a fan on a stack of books and pointing it to the jar with the liquid. More recently, I’ve been making it the other way, leaving it in a jar for 30 days, with a mild shake daily. Finally, I decided to use less alcohol (for 1/2 ounce flower, I use 5 oz. culinary grade alcohol) so I end up with about 4 oz. of tincture. I can’t really tell much difference in the effects between starting with double alcohol and reducing it by half or just starting with less alcohol to begin with and not reducing it. Your thoughts?
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  June 13, 2024 at 1:17 pm Reply
  
  Hi Diane, so glad the tincture recipe has worked out for you. We also like to reduce the tincture as some of the alcohol will evaporate off which will reduce some of the burning sensation that one gets from using an alcohol based tincture. If you want to save on the amount of alcohol you use per batch, using more flower and less alcohol while foregoing the reduction step makes sense.
Bob Strand

June 7, 2024 at 5:32 am Reply

Did everything as per and let the end result sit overnight but it didn’t reduce! Maybe 1/16″. Wha is ‘several hours’?
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  June 7, 2024 at 6:39 am Reply
  
  Hi Bob, for us, putting the jar of tincture directly in front of a fan so we see ripples along the top of the liquid, the tincture will evaporate in about 3-4 hours. If you used 90% or higher ethanol and still haven’t gotten the tincture to reduce, you may have to make a hot water bath using an electric appliance such as a crockpot or rice cooker, heating the tincture to get it to evaporate faster. If you used a lower proof alcohol, you will have a much harder time getting it to reduce as there will be a lot of water in your tincture.
- LISA Robertson
  
  July 2, 2024 at 4:53 pm Reply
  
  I forgot to do the coffee filter, I used cheese cloth and a small strainer
Thomas

May 31, 2024 at 10:02 am Reply

Hi,
New reader here. I love this recipe. Although, I am searching for a similar recipe using fine grade hashish, instead of flower. It’s more readily available in my country. On top of that, if any of you have a way figure out the strength of such a hash tincture, it would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  June 1, 2024 at 7:06 am Reply
  
  Hi Thomas, hash is typically more potent than flower itself as the THC content can vary from 30-60% where most cannabis flower is 15-20%. If you know the potency of your hashish, that would make it easier to estimate how much you should use. I would guess using 2-4 grams of hash would be on par for this recipe but you may want to err on the lighter end (2 grams) just so the tincture doesn’t end up too potent. As far as the process goes, I would just follow the same steps but add all of the alcohol at the beginning for the first wash, shake the jar in step 4 but don’t strain it, then in step 5 you can shake the jar again before straining out the hashish using a coffee filter. Then reduce the tincture down to 2 ounces or 60 ml. Hope that helps and good luck!
  - Julian
    
    September 7, 2024 at 2:51 am Reply
    
    If I want to use water-cured AVB (already vaped bud) in this recipe, do I need to dry out the AVB in the oven after the water cure process is done or can the wet avb go directly into the alcohol solution?
    - Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
      
      September 7, 2024 at 6:21 am Reply
      
      Hi Julian, I would dry the water-cured AVB to get rid of all of the water before you use it to make tincture. Water may mess with the efficiency of the extraction and it will be harder to reduce the tincture to increase its potency as alcohol will evaporate faster than water. Hope that helps and good luck!
- Luis Morales
  
  October 11, 2024 at 1:48 pm Reply
  
  You briefly mentioned how it’s possible to use vodka or other low abv solvents with a different process. Could you direct me or briefly explain what that process looks like?
  - Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
    
    October 11, 2024 at 2:01 pm Reply
    
    Hi Luis, the lower proof alcohols doesn’t extract the cannabinoids at nearly the same rate when compared to higher proof alcohols due to the higher amount of water that is in them. With this, you will have a lot more water that ends up in your tincture which doesn’t evaporate as readily as alcohol does. You can follow the same extraction processes but your tincture won’t evaporate on its own for the reduction stage, you will need to create a water bath with an electric heating source such as a crock pot, rice cooker, or even electric oven or hot plate if you have one. You set the jar of tincture inside the water bath and heat the water until you get the excess water to evaporate out of your tincture. Again, you must use an electric heat source as alcohol is extremely flammable. Hope that helps and good luck!