Tincturing fresh herbs...a hybrid approach.

There's something about tinctures made from fresh herbs you've grown, or wildcrafted, that generally makes for a very different sort of magic and medicine. I find there's more of the faery in it, not that I'm recommending injury to faeries in any way shape or form, but just saying, the spirit of the plant comes through. Having said that there's always exceptions to the rule isn't there?

There's a few generally accepted ways to make tinctures: the folkloric method, the weight to volume method, and percolation (which uses dried herbs).

The 'folkloric' way of tincture making, is to harvest your herb, cut it up fine with a pair of designated scissors, and then pour 100 proof ( 50% alcohol 50% water) Vodka over to cover. You need at least 40% alcohol for its preservative ability to shine through.

In Australia 100 proof Vodka is hard to come by so I make my fresh plant tinctures in a version of the folkloric way, but with the variation of using 95% grain alcohol, otherwise known as ethanol (less polite term), rather than vodka. I recommend small drop doseages of the finished tinctures, and because I'm adding the ethanol to fresh plants, which contain water, it's diluted in the process. So you ain't glugging down grain alcohol. I also tell folks they can take the drops in a little water. I could dilute the grain alcohol down I guess, even to 50 % water. Ive considered it, but I've had good results doing things the way I am. My Yarrow tincture has kept my partner and me clear of the winter lurgys for two seasons now.

I've found that using fresh plant material as if I were working with the 'weight to volume' method (where 1 gram = 1 ml), I usually get a ratio of 1:8 in my jar. That's equivalent to 1 part by weight of fresh herb, to 8 parts in volume of 'menstruum' (or fluid). The quantities usually have to be these proportions for the alcohol to cover the herb. I could blend the herb up to get the ratio closer to 1:2, but for some reason that doesn't sit right with me. Not to say its unlike pesto.

Now some may say that a ratio of 1:8, that's not enough to make decent medicines, but I've found this to be far from the truth, finding them effective, and receiving good feedback. If you work in ways similar to this, or have any relevant experiences, I'd love to hear from you.