Reply To: Medicine Making | Internal Preparations
Good morning.
I have really appreciated all the conversation about tinctures. As I begin to harvest my garden herbs before winter sets in, I am trying to understand what alcohol percentages to use for dried and fresh herbs. I have 40% brandy and vodka, 75% and 95% Everclear. I have read all of the posts in this thread and have learned a lot. I do have a list of alcohol percentage ranges for dried herbs from The Herbal Apothecary by JJ Pursell. I have just ordered The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook by James Green and hope he has a list for fresh herbs.
My understanding from this course on internal preparations is that 95% alcohol is suitable fresh herbs as the moisture content from the plant dilutes the alcohol sufficiently. I really don’t want to be over zealous with Everclear just because I have it in my cabinet.
Now for my questions.
1.If 95% alcohol tinctures actually need to be diluted is there any point in actually having 95% alcohol?
2.Do I understand correctly that diluting before tincturing has to do with extracting water soluble properties from the plant and diluting after tincturing is simply for making it more tolerable when dosing?
I appreciate any clarification you provide.
Thank you.