A Beginner’s Guide to Making Your Own Tinctures (+ 6 Herb Blends)

I know I’m a little late to the game, but I recently became obsessed with making my own herbal tinctures. It’s not that I didn’t believe they would work or that I poo-poo anything other than Western medicine. It’s just that I never really had the time to figure it out.

Then I received a medicinal herb garden kit for Christmas—a sign from the universe if you ask me—and I took the hint. While I also like to make teas, syrups, and salves, I find that herbal tinctures give the most bang for my herbal buck. They’re incredibly easy to make, easy to take, and highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way. 

Here’s how to make them, when to use them, and some simple recipes for herbal tinctures to get you started with the process.

Jump to:

• What Is a Tincture?
• Making an Herbal Tincture
• Ingredients
• 1. Choose your alcohol
• 2. Choose your herbs
• Instructions
• When to Use Tinctures
• Herbal Tincture Recipes
• 1. Cleansing Tincture
• 2. PMS Tincture
• 3. Sleep Tincture
• 4. Stress Tincture
• 5. Mood Boost Tincture
• 6. Breathe Well Tincture
• FAQ

What Is a Tincture?

Don’t let the word intimidate you. A tincture is just a concentrated herbal extract made with alcohol, which can be taken straight or diluted in tea or water. In short, it’s another way of extracting the active components from an herb, except you’re using alcohol instead of water, vinegar (that's an oxymel), or glycerin as the solvent.

In other words, herbal tinctures are concentrated extracts of plant material often used as herbal medicines to support various aspects of health and well-being. You can use fresh or dried herbs in herbal medicines, making it easier than you might think!

As opposed to herbal teas or capsules, tinctures are easy to use, portable, and more potent than other herbal remedies. Whereas you might need to prepare 4 or 5 cups of tea to get the benefits of an herb, you may only need a dropper or two of herbal medicine. Plus, thanks to the alcohol, tinctures have a long shelf life and can often last up to 5 years or more.

Making an Herbal Tincture

To make an herbal tincture, you’ll need to start with high-quality plant material such as dried herbs or fresh plants. Some common plant materials used for making herbal tinctures include roots, medicinal herbs, leaves, flowers, and bark. The choice of plant material will depend on the intended use of the herbal medicine. 

Once you’ve made that choice, you can begin the tincture-making process. One common method involves soaking the plant material in a high-proof alcohol such as vodka or brandy for several weeks. The alcohol extracts the active constituents from it, creating a potent and long-lasting herbal tincture.

Another option is to use apple cider vinegar as the solvent instead of alcohol. It’s a mild acid that can extract the medicinal properties of the plant material while preserving the nutritional value of your medicinal herbs. 

To make an apple cider vinegar herbal tincture, you’ll need to chop the plant material and place it in a jar. Pour apple cider vinegar over it, making sure it’s completely covered. Seal the jar and let it sit for several weeks, shaking it daily to ensure the plant material is evenly distributed. After several weeks, strain the mixture and store the herbal tincture in a dark glass bottle.

Ingredients

Tinctures really only require 3 things: herbs, alcohol, and a glass jar.

1. Choose your alcohol

Alcohol is the solvent that extracts the compounds with medicinal properties from the herbs. You can use any type of alcohol you like, but I typically use vodka because it has a more neutral flavor than other alcohols (although I have heard that rum works just as well).

While standard 80 proof vodka is good for most fresh and dried herbs, choosing a higher proof will help draw out more of the plant juices. Note: there are also several ways to make tinctures without using alcohol, and this will be discussed further below.

Here’s how to use different proofs when making tinctures:

80 proof vodka: Considered standard for most tinctures, 80 proof vodka should be used on fresh and dried herbs that don’t have a high moisture content (such as bay, dill, fennel, sage, and thyme).

80 proof vodka + 190 proof grain alcohol (use a 1:1 ratio): A higher alcohol content helps extract more volatile plant compounds, especially when using herbs with a higher moisture content (such as oregano, parsley, basil, cilantro, mint, and sage).

190 proof grain alcohol: Grain alcohol is typically used for dissolving gums and plant resins found in barks and dried plant matter. While it more easily extracts essential oils and aromatics in plants, it also makes for a stronger-tasting tincture, which some people find hard to take. It may also dehydrate your herbs, affecting the quality of your tincture in the long run.

Alternative methods without alcohol

You can use both fire cider vinegar and food-grade glycerin in place of alcohol. When you do this, it is then no longer called a tincture but an extract. Follow these instructions for extracting with vinegar here.

Note that the shelf life of these extracts is shorter, so make sure to label the bottle with the date you set it up, as well as the expected expiration date, according to which type of extract you make.

2. Choose your herbs

Tinctures can be made with fresh or dried flowers, leaves, berries, or bark—basically, any plant material that has a therapeutic benefit. Since my medicinal herb garden is thriving, I usually use fresh herbs for my tinctures.

But you may find that dried herbs are easier to get your hands on, especially since you can order them online in bulk. I highly recommend anything by Frontier Co-op because their herbs are organic, fair trade, and super economical. But use whatever is easier and works best for you.

In addition to the standard garden herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, and sage, some of my favorite plants to use for tinctures are:

• Nettle leaf
• Echinacea
• Licorice root
• Raspberry leaf
• Elderberries
• Marshmallow root
• Ashwagandha root

For a brief overview of different herbs and what they can be used for, I usually refer to Mountain Rose Herbs. Not only do they give you a description of each herb and how it is best used, but they also explain the preparation and any precautions.

Measure your herbs

You can always weigh your herbs to determine the exact strength of your tincture, but I’ll be honest: I just eyeball it. Here’s a quick rule of thumb for how much plant material to use in your tincture:

• Fresh herbs: Fill the jar ⅔ full
• Dried herbs: Fill the jar ½ full
• Fresh and dried roots/berries: Fill the jar ⅓–½ full

Do not pack down your herbs. Just place them in the jar, and leave plenty of breathing room for the alcohol. 

Instructions

You'll need:

• A pint-sized glass jar with lid
• Vodka, grain alcohol, or rum (at least 80 proof)
• Herbs of choice
• Piece of parchment or plastic wrap

Here’s a quick video showing you how to make your tincture. Or skip to the instructions below.



1. Finely chop or grind your herbs with a mortar and pestle and place them in the jar. This gives them more surface area to dissolve into the liquid [source]. Sometimes, I’m lazy and don’t do this (just toss it in! is my motto), but I definitely notice a difference in the strength of my extract when I do.

2. Once you have filled your jar according to your recipe with the desired ratio of herbs, you’ll want to fill it the rest of the way with alcohol to completely cover the plants. To keep your herbs from molding, you need to make sure there’s about an inch of space above your herbs (that’s filled with alcohol) and that your herbs stay submerged. Anything poking up above the alcohol can mold. (I didn’t show this in the pictures, but do as I say and not as I do!)

3. Screw on the lid. If using a jar with a metal lid, you’ll need to keep it from rusting by placing a piece of parchment or plastic wrap over the mouth of the jar prior to screwing on the lid. Place your jar in a cool, dry, dark cabinet to start the extracting process.

4. Shake the jar every couple of days and check to see that the alcohol hasn’t evaporated too much. If the herbs are no longer totally submerged, top it off with more of the same type of alcohol (this is what keeps your herbs from molding).

5. Let the mixture extract for about 8 weeks.

6. When the extraction process is over, place a funnel into an amber dropper bottle with a fine mesh strainer on top. Pour the tincture into the bottle, and this will strain out the herbs. To extract more of the tincture, remove the remaining herbs and wrap them in cheesecloth, then squeeze whatever liquid is left in the herbs.

7. Label each bottle with the herbs used, the type and percentage of alcohol, and the date, and store it in a dark cabinet until it’s needed.

8. To take your tincture, either place a few drops directly under your tongue, or squeeze a dropperful into a glass of water or tea up to 3 times a day. The actual amount you’ll want to take depends on the strength of your tincture, the herbs used, and your body chemistry. I usually start with half a dropperful. 

When to Use Tinctures

Due to the alcohol present in tinctures, the herbal extracts are more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, with the effects being noticeable within about an hour. Because they’re fast-acting, tinctures are perfect for things like pain, tummy troubles, anxiety, and insomnia.

I like to keep a few different blends on hand for whenever acute aches and pains crop up. And I always have a toning tincture at the ready for PMS, hormonal acne, or other signs of hormonal imbalances.

But aside from acute illnesses, you can use a tincture for anything that you might use an herbal tea for, like:

• Sleeplessness
• Stress
• Indigestion
• Cold and flu relief
• Allergies

Herbal Tincture Recipes

Here are some of my favorite recipes to get you started. Don’t worry too much about getting the ratios exact. Just eyeball the herbs as you place them in the jar.

1. Cleansing Tincture

• 2 parts nettle leaf
• 1 part dandelion leaf
• 1 part lemon balm leaf

2. PMS Tincture

• 3 parts red raspberry leaf
• 1 part stinging nettle leaf
• 2 parts peppermint leaf
• 1 part ginger root

3. Sleep Tincture

• 1 part chamomile flowers
• 1 part lavender flowers

4. Stress Tincture

• 2 parts dandelion root
• 2 parts ginseng
• 1 part astragalus root
• ½ part cardamom seeds

5. Mood Boost Tincture

• 2 parts lemon balm leaf
• 1 part passionflower
• 1 part ginger root

6. Breathe Well Tincture

• 1 part ginger root
• 1 part marshmallow root
• 1 part licorice root

FAQ

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Gina Jansheski, a licensed, board-certified pediatrician who has more than 20 years of practice experience. Learn more about Hello Glow’s medical reviewers here. As always, this is not personal medical advice, and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.

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