# Tincture help... please!



## dankillerbs (Aug 6, 2009)

Hey, I made a tincture the other night 

with 1oz of good shake and a bottle and 

a half(300ml) of everclear..... I dried the 

shake in the oven for 3min at 275f then 

heated the herb and everclear in a slow 

cooker at 150f for 1 hour... I then 

strained the herb out and put the 

alcohol collected back in the double 

boiler to evaporate off a bit... I 

evaporated all but 40ml of dark green 

liquid... I had two 1oz(30ml) bottles and 

added 20ml to each... I foolishly added 

10ml of water to each of the bottles in 

attempt to dull the everclear taste and 

thin the mix more... I figured it was ok 

because all the tinctures i get from the 

health foods store are 2 parts alcohol 

extract and 1 part spring water... 

Anyways it messed up the consistancy 

of the mix and seperated it into layers! I 

now have a thick dark layer of resin on 

the bottom of the jars and it wont 

redissolve in the mix now... Is there 

anything I can add to the mix to 

redissolve the resin or should I 

evaporate all the liquid from the jars and 

try and redissolve it in sraight everclear?

ANY THOUGHTS PLEASE!!!???


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## .Calico (Aug 7, 2009)

I would separate the two liquids by pouring the top layers off. The active chems in MJ are alcohol and fat soluble, not H2O soluble. Most tinctures are made through distillation, not by soaking. Next time try Bacardi 151 if you want a 2:1 ethanol/water ratio. As far as the spring water is concerned, they may start w/spring water but once the run through the still, it's distilled water. Distilled H2O mixes better with alcohol, spring/tap H2O has a tendency to turn the tincture cloudy. I have a stove-top still and have been distilling spirits, tinctures, and extracts for years. It has been my experience that the optimum alcohol % needed for most herbs, including marijuana, is 75.5% (151 proof) or lower. My guess is that your tincture separated into 2 layers, one being alcohol/H2O mix, and the other being the oils/fats from the marijuana. Just separate the 2 different layers and try each out to find out the grade of each substance. My bet is the oil will be stronger. Let me know how it goes!

(I better get some +reps for this, lol!!!)


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## dankillerbs (Aug 7, 2009)

Hey thanks! How can I give you rep? Im 

new here... anyways that sounds like a 

good plan... I will pour the liquid layer off 

the top into a new dropper bottle and 

try redissolving the oils on the bottom of 

the old jar in pure ethanol with no 

water... I should mention that I did add 

pure RO water, not spring/tap water... 

The tinctures I get from the health foods 

store are what had the spring water... 

anyways, thanks for your input! I will 

give it a try and let you know how it 

goes!


So the liquid I pour off should still be 

slightly active, right? I know its not as 

strong as it should be with the bulk of 

the resin just resting on the bottom but 

im sure its not waste, right?

DONT ADD WATER TO YOUR TINCTURES!


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## Spazmoog (Aug 7, 2009)

.Calico said:


> I would separate the two liquids by pouring the top layers off. The active chems in MJ are alcohol and fat soluble, not H2O soluble. Most tinctures are made through distillation, not by soaking. Next time try Bacardi 151 if you want a 2:1 ethanol/water ratio. As far as the spring water is concerned, they may start w/spring water but once the run through the still, it's distilled water. Distilled H2O mixes better with alcohol, spring/tap H2O has a tendency to turn the tincture cloudy. I have a stove-top still and have been distilling spirits, tinctures, and extracts for years. It has been my experience that the optimum alcohol % needed for most herbs, including marijuana, is 75.5% (151 proof) or lower. My guess is that your tincture separated into 2 layers, one being alcohol/H2O mix, and the other being the oils/fats from the marijuana. Just separate the 2 different layers and try each out to find out the grade of each substance. My bet is the oil will be stronger. Let me know how it goes!
> 
> (I better get some +reps for this, lol!!!)


+reps if you tell me more about your 'stove top still'. I think you just made my day!


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## .Calico (Aug 7, 2009)

There are alot of different designs of stills. Google "crockpot still", they're the cheapest/easiest. Here is a pic of mine with directions on how to build it. Please note that owning a still as well as distilling alcohol w/o a license is a felony.


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## dankillerbs (Aug 7, 2009)

So I just poured the alcohol/water mix into another jar and evaporated the liquid off and got a tiny bit of hash oil... I then added straight everclear to my jar caked in resin, heated it a little... and wha-la! All the resin dissolved nicely and its much stronger now with a better taste! The water helped remove some of the green taste but deffinately didnt effect the potency!!! Its great!!!


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## .Calico (Aug 7, 2009)

Good. I'm glad everything worked out.


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