Tincture recipes

[slowandeasy]

Have been making ethanol tinctures recently, but have had mixed results from use to use. Just wondering if anyone had a fool proof method, or a good recipe.

Also very intrested in the glycerine tincture method, but do not want to wait 60 days. Gonna try the hot method, so any suggestions would be appreciated!

Oh yeah, since every batch is different...what do you find the right dosages to be? Not having consistant results, some times you feel more or less effects with the same amount.

 

[geopolitical]

Really the BEST way to get consistent results from a tincture is to make LARGE batches at once. I wouldn't recommend the hot method. Patience will result in a much better result. I don't have any failsafe recipes, most of them will work alright. You can also water cure the material you're going to use for your tincture first to help moderate the taste if you find it objectionable.

I haven't used them in years, but when I did do them I did very large batches so by the time I was at dose 3 out of say, 50 doses, I'd know exactly how much a dose should be.

 

[Papulz]

i never had any problems using a gentle heat in making my ethanol tinctures.

i used similar potency material for mine and thus easily was able to ascertain the dosage when using a fixed ratio of solvent to material.

 

[Gray Wolf]

I've made alcohol tincture directly from plant material and from bubble hash and kief by using an oil bath at 230/240F and reflux boiling the material in the alcohol. I boil plant material for 30 minutes before decanting the liquid and refilling with fresh for another boil. I do that four, sometimes five times until the alcohol "mostly" clears.

I then reduce the alcohol to the desired consistency by distilling off the bulk of it. You can also just boil it off, but it is more costly and Everclear is about $70 a gallon locally.

Hash and Kief, I boil twice at 30 minutes. It makes a much tastier tincture in that it doesn't pick up the chloraphyl and plant waxes.

Hot glycerin tincture is easy and tasty if you keep the temperature down. I use 160F and cook for 30 minutes at a time while stirring, before cooling and then cooking again. I heat cycle for about a week before pressing.

I have also made 14 hour glycerin by putting it in a closed jar and boiling water for the full period, shaking periodically in the middle.

You can greatly speed up cold glycerin infussion with vibration. I use a ammunition shell case polisher and produce a respectable cold glycerin tincture in about a week.

The difference between a well made hot glycerin and a cold process is like soup. Once you cook them together, all the flavors marry and you have a single taste instead of different capricous and provocative flavors running off in all directions.

My favorite glycerin for taste is 120 day cold process but the hot process is damn tasty and has a notable local following.

The material that I use varies, but not so much that I can't estimate a starting dose and then titrate to determine the exact dosage. With glycerin, you are talking droppers full and with tincture a couple of drops, so it is more critical with tincture. I have seen ODs on tincture that while not fatal, were not a fun experience according to the participants.

GW

 

[slowandeasy]

So Gray, how well does boiling the material work to make the tincture? Did you pre heat the material? What kind of ratio do you use? or a round about? Lets say we use 14 grams of quality material, what would you do with it? How much you reduce it will determine potency also, so what is the right consistancy? Dont wanna OD! How long after taking drops should you know the effects? What is the difference in effects from plant material to hash/kief to BHO? Besides taste what is the difference in effects of Glycerine and Ethanol tinctures?


I made some out of some lightly vaporized material, it turned out golden looking and I used 4 shots of everclear, and used the oil bath at 230 to boil off about 3 shots. I just wanted to see if it would work with vaporized material. It did strip the vaporized material, because it looks like liquid honey oil. Just dont know if it will work or not, prolly have to take alot more than normal tincture. Have some testers lined up today. Trying to find what works best for Crohn's relief, so any advice is appreciated!

 

[Gray Wolf]

So Gray, how well does boiling the material work to make the tincture? Did you pre heat the material? What kind of ratio do you use? or a round about? Lets say we use 14 grams of quality material, what would you do with it? How much you reduce it will determine potency also, so what is the right consistancy? Dont wanna OD! How long after taking drops should you know the effects? What is the difference in effects from plant material to hash/kief to BHO? Besides taste what is the difference in effects of Glycerine and Ethanol tinctures?


I made some out of some lightly vaporized material, it turned out golden looking and I used 4 shots of everclear, and used the oil bath at 230 to boil off about 3 shots. I just wanted to see if it would work with vaporized material. It did strip the vaporized material, because it looks like liquid honey oil. Just dont know if it will work or not, prolly have to take alot more than normal tincture. Have some testers lined up today. Trying to find what works best for Crohn's relief, so any advice is appreciated!

You boil the material in alcohol to dissolve the cannabinoid resins and oils.

I dry the material until it is just frangible in a 200F oven first to get rid of the water.

I personally reduce the alcohol back down until a drop of it stops flowing before reaching about half way down a rolling paper. That makes it handy for coating paper, or using as an oral tincture.

I have high tolerance and typically use two or three drops of tincture per dose. I usually start with two drops and titrate from there. I feel the effects in 30 to 45 minutes when taken orally.

The tincture made from hash or kief won’t have as much plant wax and vegetable oil as that made from plant material and will be tastier.

My alcohol extracts tend to be more couch lock than a BHO of the same material, while the BHO tends to be speedier.

I haven’t been able to get glycerin tinctures anywhere near as potent as ethanol.

My extractions of vaped material showed a reduction in head effect and accentuation of the couch lock. It also has a toasted taste.

The only two Crohn’s patients that I am aware of, get the most smooth muscle relaxation from Indica strains that have been harvested late term. An alcohol extraction would probably be more so than BHO, but you might try both.

GW

 

[konstantgrdnr]

Subcool has a recipe in one of the mags that uses Vegetable Glycerin for an alcohol free ticture

 

[slowandeasy]

Tried the vaped material tincture. It worked, and have to agree it tastes toasty and is very downer. I need to reduce it more, I started off with 4 shots of everclear and reduced it to about 1. Used an oral syringe to measure amount taken. Where do you get the empty medicine dropper vials?

Gray,
I am not sure if you measure or weigh your stuff before you make your tincture, but I want to get a sort of recipe. What would be the least amount of material you would use to make a batch of tincture? If you were to guess, how much tincture would you get from 14 grams of good material? Thanks for the help~!!

 

[Gray Wolf]

Tried the vaped material tincture. It worked, and have to agree it tastes toasty and is very downer. I need to reduce it more, I started off with 4 shots of everclear and reduced it to about 1. Used an oral syringe to measure amount taken. Where do you get the empty medicine dropper vials?

Gray,
I am not sure if you measure or weigh your stuff before you make your tincture, but I want to get a sort of recipe. What would be the least amount of material you would use to make a batch of tincture? If you were to guess, how much tincture would you get from 14 grams of good material? Thanks for the help~!!

I get my bottles at a local head shop that specially stocks them for medical patients. I get great use out of a small Visine squeeze bottle how ever, if I want to carry it in my pocket or toiletry kit.

With my pot size, I usually run 100 grams of plant material at a time when I am doing a direct alcohol extraction, but there are no minimum size limitations.

I alcohol extract from hash and kief in a fruit jar and usually run it in 28 gram lots. You could easily do the same thing with 14 grams of trim.

How much you end up with depends heavily on how roily you make your tincture.

I usually mix by volume instead of weight, but looking at old notes and extrapolating, I would guess on average two to three grams. Not much, but then a little goes a long way.

JD

 

[slowandeasy]

Gray,
Yeah I know it depends on how roily you make it. I will just have to experiment. Not working with the numbers you are! It would take me a long time to save up 28g of kief! Dont want to waste good material on experimenting, so all your help is much appreciated!!

 

[Gray Wolf]

Gray,
Yeah I know it depends on how roily you make it. I will just have to experiment. Not working with the numbers you are! It would take me a long time to save up 28g of kief! Dont want to waste good material on experimenting, so all your help is much appreciated!!

Easier for me because I am just the dumb mechanic. I take donations and convert them to donations. Because the material costs me nothing and the processing is inexpensive, I charge nothing. That usually brings in more available material than I can legally have on hand at one time, so I have to pick, choose, and time deliveries to remain legal and above board.

Once you step aside from the commercial interests in MMJ, most of the material that I work with was thrown away by growers, just to get it out of their face.

It is the proscription of MJ that makes it an expensive medication, but if we take that factor out, it may very well be this centuries most significant medicinal breakthrough at the lowest cost.

GW

 

[grumio]

GW - are you in CA? If so, I assume you're using 151 Everclear, since we can't (easily) get the 190 here. FYI, I recently discovered Potter's West Indies Rum @ BevMo, $13/750 ml as opposed to $16 for Everclear. If you have any source recommendations for alc I'd be happy to hear them. I get my dropper bottles from E.D. Luce Packaging in Cerritos - bottles $7.25/dozen, dropper caps $.38 each.

I flavor the alc before extracting into it (or rather I extract other stuff into it first) - pour off an ounce or two out of the bottle, add 2 tbsp cardamom seeds, cracked in a mortar & pestle, & 2 sticks cinnamon broken into small pieces with pliers (don't use powdered spices - too hard to strain out). Set the bottle in a water bath, bring it to a boil for few minutes, then let it sit in the hot water, shaking occasionally for a couple of hours. Strain, proceed. It greatly improves the flavor. Sometimes I'll float a couple of ml on a cocktail - cannabitters! I think I'll try adding vanilla bean to my next batch.

Slow - my ratio for the tincture I make for myself is 4 g bud - 2 oz finished tincture. My dosage is 1-3 milliliters (eyedroppersfull, not drops).

 

[slowandeasy]

grumio,
Thanks for the reply. Seems like that is about what I am making. 1 mill of vaped material will give you a buzz, not extreme...mellow and mostly body. Buddy took 2 ml and was feeling pretty good, but again something you might wanna do at home.

Gonna try using unvaped material next. What do you find the effects to be for you for the different amounts taken? Do you reduce your tincture much? I feel as if I need to reduce it more, tastes too strong! Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Gray Wolf]

GW - are you in CA? If so, I assume you're using 151 Everclear, since we can't (easily) get the 190 here. FYI, I recently discovered Potter's West Indies Rum @ BevMo, $13/750 ml as opposed to $16 for Everclear. If you have any source recommendations for alc I'd be happy to hear them. I get my dropper bottles from E.D. Luce Packaging in Cerritos - bottles $7.25/dozen, dropper caps $.38 each.

I flavor the alc before extracting into it (or rather I extract other stuff into it first) - pour off an ounce or two out of the bottle, add 2 tbsp cardamom seeds, cracked in a mortar & pestle, & 2 sticks cinnamon broken into small pieces with pliers (don't use powdered spices - too hard to strain out). Set the bottle in a water bath, bring it to a boil for few minutes, then let it sit in the hot water, shaking occasionally for a couple of hours. Strain, proceed. It greatly improves the flavor. Sometimes I'll float a couple of ml on a cocktail - cannabitters! I think I'll try adding vanilla bean to my next batch.

Slow - my ratio for the tincture I make for myself is 4 g bud - 2 oz finished tincture. My dosage is 1-3 milliliters (eyedroppersfull, not drops).

No, I'm in the Pacific NW, where we have Everclear and Clear Spring 190 proof at about $90 per gallon.

Your recipes sound tasty!

GW

 

[Gray Wolf]

grumio,
Thanks for the reply. Seems like that is about what I am making. 1 mill of vaped material will give you a buzz, not extreme...mellow and mostly body. Buddy took 2 ml and was feeling pretty good, but again something you might wanna do at home.

Gonna try using unvaped material next. What do you find the effects to be for you for the different amounts taken? Do you reduce your tincture much? I feel as if I need to reduce it more, tastes too strong! Thanks for the advice!!

Define alcohol tincture? I distill off most of the 190 proof from the cannabis oil, leaving just enough to flow for the purpose it is required for.

At that point, you can put it on your tongue and it will taste like alcohol, but it won't burn your tongue.

From my perspective, the only reason to leave a lot of alcohol in it, is if you like having alcohol in it, which is a matter of personal taste.

Diluting it with something else, reduces potency and requires more of it to achieve adequate doseage.

If what you have isn't tasty, rather than dilute it, you might consider adding your concentrated doseage to a bunch of something else (like a drink) to tone down the taste.

GW

 

[slowandeasy]

Yeah Gray,
The BHO tincture was not bad tasting. But the Vaped material tastes bad, and I need to reduce it more. Need to figure out the right consistancy. Am sure there is too much everclear in it, and it is vaped material...so it is gonna taste bad. Gonna try a batch using good material. Just need to evaporate more everclear off this time. Agree with you, do not want to taste the alcohol! It works for sure, just want to make it the right consistancy and so it does not burn. What would be the minimum amount you would use to make a batch? Thanks!!

 

[Gray Wolf]

I don't measure how much it takes to do a batch, only how much I leave. I leave just enough that the tincture flows and doesn't turn into a stick, gummy, mess.

I would guess about 5 % by volume.

Most of my tincture later gets cooked off the rest of the way and turned into something else, so that is a handy level that can be used as is or easily converted.

GW

 

[grumio]

GW - what I want to know is, where is the sweet spot?

At what point does one reach the optimum extraction of the desired elements, & how does more exposure to heat degrade them?

Science questions. These are answerable questions, I just don't seem to be able to find the answers, & I don't have the tools, money or knowledge to do it myself. Though I have been working on it. Fuck me for never taking organic chemistry.

in other news: I've had a vanilla bean in a bottle of rum for a few days now & it smells FANTASTIC. I'll be making some tincture with it soon. Will post results.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I'm pulling up a chair for this discussion. Awesome info so far, keep it up (And thanks!)

 

[medi-useA]

weeks of a harvest my self, so...subscribed...

muA