Are you excited to make your very first cannabis tincture? Let me guide you! Here, you will discover what a cannabis tincture is, what it can be used for, the benefits of making your own, and how to make a traditional Green Dragon cannabis alcohol tincture at home with a simple step-by-step process.
Table of Contents
- Article Features
- Why You Will Love This Guide
- Cannabis Tinctures 101
- What You’ll Need
- The Step-by-Step Process
- Storage Instructions
- Notes and Expert Tips
- Don’t Forget To Decarb First
- Cannabis Recommendations
- Alcohol Recommendations
- Evaporation Recommendations
- Different Ways To Make A Tincture
- How To Use A Tincture
- Green Dragon Tincture Recipe Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recipes You Will Love Using Tincture
Article Features
- Just 2 ingredients needed: cannabis and alcohol
- Can be used as a tincture, made into FECO, or edibles
- Ready to learn more? Learn more about how the Source Turbo can help you create high-quality cannabis concentrates at home.
Why You Will Love This Guide
If you are ready to try making a marijuana tincture recipe at home, welcome; you’re in the right place!
Here are a few important things to know first:
- This post is specifically dedicated to the traditional method of creating a long soak, alcohol-based cannabis tincture called Green Dragon.
- If you’re looking for another option, be sure to check out my different tincture recipes:
- Golden Dragon QWET freezer tincture
- CBDA tincture
- THCA tincture
- Cannabis root tincture
- MCT oil ‘tincture’
This recipe is the easiest method for beginners to follow, and this guide will teach you everything you need to know about making your own tincture at home.
In this guide, I will help you discover the best way to make a tincture, what ingredients you need, the step-by-step process, and all the different ways to use it once it’s prepared, with fully answered FAQs to help you along the way.
Cannabis Tinctures 101
Before we jump into making our own cannabis tincture for the first time, let’s quickly look at what a tincture is because the process can be new to most people – it was to me!
Tinctures are a type of extraction that is made by soaking the bark, leaves, or roots of herbs in a solvent like alcohol.
To get a better understanding of this process, think of vanilla extract. It is simply vanilla beans soaked in alcohol to capture the flavor.
The alcohol pulls out the plant’s active compounds and dissolves them in the liquid. This liquid can then be reduced, concentrating the potency.
Essentially, we are using alcohol as a tool to extract the active ingredients, cannabinoids like CBD and THC, and terpenes from the plant material to create a powerful plant-based medicine.
There are many other types of tinctures. Green dragon is simply a name for this specific type of cannabis tincture and the process used to make it.
Benefits Of Tinctures
As a cannabis consumer, there are many benefits to using tinctures to enjoy the effects of cannabis.
Traditional tinctures are easy to make at home, easy to consume, and don’t add many calories to your diet.
Smoking or vaping can be harsh or unpleasant for some people, which means tinctures are also a great alternative to smoking.
Unlike smoking, tinctures don’t have a strong smell once they’re made, so they are more discreet and easy to use in public.
When taken sublingually, it has a very fast onset, so you can quickly tell whether or not you’ll need to take more to feel the effects.
Because tinctures are easily measured, you can add a precise amount to any dish without greatly affecting the final flavor.
It’s also easier to test out the exact amount needed to feel the effects and find the minimum effective dose (MED) so you don’t use too much.
Of course, this will be dependent upon your own unique endocannabinoid system.
It’s important to remember that cannabis works differently for each person, so trying a few different strains and dosages is important to find out what works best for you.
What You’ll Need
- Dried cannabis flowers: Choose your desired amount of dried cannabis flowers, in grams, to use. Measure and record this weight if you want to calculate the potency at the end. You can choose THC, CBD, or CBG flowers. You can purchase flowers from my online shop. Do not forget to decarb before getting started.
- High-proof alcohol: You want at least 150 proof, ideally 190 or 200 proof grain alcohol. Lower-proof alcohols, like vodka, are not as strong. Be sure to check out my guide for where you can order high-proof grain alcohol online.
Note: The recipe card below has a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions.
The Step-by-Step Process
- Using a digital scale, measure the amount of cannabis you are using. This will help you calculate the potency later. If you haven’t already, decarb your cannabis if desired. You can use an oven, Instant Pot, or decarb machine. See the decarboxylation guide below for different CBD, CBG, or THC times.
- Put the decarboxylated cannabis flower (or trim, shake, kief) in a mason jar.
- Pour the alcohol over the cannabis. You only need enough to cover the plant matter. Any more is a waste.
- Attach the lid and shake the cannabis mixture gently.
- Step 5 – Place the jar in a cool, dark location, like a cupboard or even the freezer, and leave it to infuse for 24 hours to 30 days. See notes below for timing and lab tests. You can gently shake the jar every few days if desired.
- Step 6 – When ready, strain the tincture through a filter, like a coffee filter, into a new clean glass jar.
- Step 7 – Store in a dark jar, like this dropper bottle. You may want to use a small funnel for this process. Store this in a cool, dark place for up to several months or even longer.
- Step 8 – Move on to evaporate the alcohol, if desired. This can be done safely with a Source Turbo machine.
Note: Complete step-by-step printable instructions are located in the recipe card below.
Storage Instructions
Tinctures are usually stored in glass bottles with a dropper, which makes them more accurate and easy to dose.
Store your tincture in glass, not plastic. Like this dropper bottle, a dark jar is ideal, but clear glass is just fine if you store it in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or freezer.
Tinctures can be stored for up to several months or even longer if made properly.
Always keep your tincture out of direct sunlight to preserve as many health benefits as possible.
Notes and Expert Tips
Cannabis alcohol tinctures are generally pretty forgiving; however, there are a few things to know ahead of time to help you with the process.
Don’t Forget To Decarb First
One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen my Well With Cannabis Community members make is forgetting to decarb the plant material before mixing it with the alcohol.
Compounds like CBD and THC need to be heated at a low temperature for a certain period of time to become active.
Therefore, the first step to making a successful cannabis tincture involves decarboxylating the plant material.
We have guides for decarboxylation in an oven of Instant Pot if you need them to get started.
If you forget – or don’t want to – decarb first, you will end up with a CBDA or THCA tincture instead.
Decarb Times
- THCA → Δ9-THC – bake at 240°F/116°C for 40 minutes
- CBDA → CBD – bake at 240°F/116°C for 90 minutes
- CBGA → CBG – bake at 220°F/105°C for 60 minutes
- Δ9-THC → CBN – bake at 240°F/116°C for 180+ minutes (approximate; CBN forms slowly, mostly through aging and oxygen exposure, so a single bake yields only a little)
Cannabis Recommendations
Your cannabis tincture can only be as strong as the material you’re starting with.
High-grade flower buds are going to be more potent than trim or shake but less potent than kief.
Keep this in mind as you choose how much cannabis to use, as well as what strain of cannabis to use.
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Using your favorite cannabis strains is one of the easiest ways to personalize your cannabis tincture recipe to make it suit your needs and desired medicinal purposes.
You can also make different cannabinoid-dominant tinctures, like:
- CBD alcohol tincture using a CBD flower
- CBG alcohol tincture using a CBG flower
- THC tincture using a THC flower
Just remember to record how much cannabis you start with, in grams, if you want to try and calculate the potency of your cannabis tincture.
Alcohol Recommendations
It is essential to use high-proof grain alcohol for the best quality extraction.
The reason I recommend pure grain alcohol is that it is the best solvent for extracting the trichomes from the plant material and leaving them suspended in a cannabis-infused alcohol mixture.
If you cannot access high-proof alcohol, 151 proof will work as well, although it is not as strong of a solvent. You will not achieve the same results with lower-proof alcohol like vodka or rum.
Here is my complete guide to where you to get high-proof alcohol for making tinctures.
Warning:
Do not use any alcohol that is not graded as food-safe, such as isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). This is toxic to consume.
Evaporation Recommendations
Your homemade tincture will burn when you place it under your tongue or in your mouth for sublingual use.
To counteract this, you will want to evaporate the alcohol. This process will leave you with a more concentrated tincture, meaning you will be able to take less
How much alcohol you evaporate off will depend on the type of final product you want, but many people typically evaporate off anywhere from 50-100% of the alcohol.
If you evaporate off 95-100% of the alcohol, you will be left with full-extract cannabis oil (FECO), a powerful concentrated cannabis extract.
There are many different ways to evaporate the alcohol, some safer than others.
The most straightforward way is to let the tincture sit out without a cover to let the alcohol evaporate away naturally over time.
A more advanced technique is to use a machine called the Source Turbo. This machine will help evaporate the alcohol and also recover it for future use, so you’re not constantly wasting high-proof alcohol by evaporating it into thin air.
You can also follow the instructions here on how to make full-extract cannabis oil with complete instructions for evaporating the alcohol.
Warning:
Combining high-proof alcohol with open flames can be extremely dangerous. Before attempting any alcohol evaporation, ensure you are being safe. Proper ventilation, no open flames, and common sense go a long way.
Different Ways To Make A Tincture
You can scour the internet and find hundreds of different ways to make a cannabis tincture.
There is no one right way to make a tincture, and in fact, several ways different ways are often shared in my Well With Cannabis Community.
However, there are different methods used to make a cannabis tincture with slightly different outcomes.
This long-soak Green Dragon cannabis tincture is one of the two most popular tincture-making methods.
The second most popular is the Golden Dragon, also known as a QWET, quick wash extraction technique, or a freezer tincture.
A traditional cannabis tincture like the Green Dragon recipe involves steeping the cannabis flowers in alcohol for a prolonged period of time, with no freezing required.
I’ve seen traditional tinctures steep anywhere between a few hours to up to 4-6 weeks or longer in some cases.
Fans of the traditional tincture prefer this method because it is believed that the longer soak times help extract a full spectrum of plant compounds.
In contrast, the Golden Dragon QWET tincture combines frozen cannabis and frozen alcohol for only a few minutes, often called a ‘wash’ or ‘wash times’.
Some prefer the Green Dragon tincture because it produces a complete plant extract that includes additional plant compounds, like chlorophyll and terpenes, producing a more medicinal final product.
Compared to the Green Dragon, the Golden Dragon is preferred because it produces a much lighter colored tincture with a much more mild cannabis taste.
So which option is better? I ran my own lab tests to compare the Green Dragon tincture to the Golden Dragon tincture, and the complete results are posted here.
According to the results, the Green Dragon long soak tincture method produces a more potent tincture.
The results suggest that the longer the soak, the more potent the final product – but not by much.
This leaves you, the consumer, with the decision of choosing potency over taste.
How To Use A Tincture
Okay, yay, you’ve made it! Hopefully, you have made or are ready to make your tincture. But before you do so, let’s talk about how to use a tincture.
There are multiple ways to use a tincture, which basically all comes down to personal preference.
Thankfully, we have a complete step-by-step guide for how to use a tincture here.
In short, a tincture can be used:
- Under the tongue
- Swallowed as an edible
- Dropped in a glass of warm water
- Added to a wide range of cannabis-infused edibles or to make a green dragon drink
Green Dragon Tincture Recipe
Ingredients
- 14 grams decarbed cannabis flower
- 8 ounces high-proof grain alcohol
Instructions
- If you haven't already, decarboxylate your cannabis. Be sure to decarb according to the specific cannabinoid present: CBD, CBG, THC, etc.
- Place the decarboxylated cannabis flower in a pint-sized mason jar.
- Pour the alcohol over the cannabis flower. You only need to add enough alcohol to completely cover the plant matter. Screw the lid on tightly and shake gently.
- Place the jar in a cool, dark location like a cupboard, or the freezer, and leave it to infuse for anywhere from 24-hours to 6 months. See notes for timing. Shake occasionally.
- After your desired soak time, strain the cannabis through your preferred straining system, separating the plant matter from the alcohol, into a clean mason jar. A coffee filter works well here.
- You now have a cannabis tincture. You can choose to evaporate off some or all of the alcohol now, if desired.
- Store your final tincture in a dark bottle in a cool, dark space.
Notes
- You do not need to use the full 14 grams of cannabis called for in this recipe. You can use as much or as little cannabis as you want. For a small, starter batch, start with just 3.5 grams.
- Only use high-proof alcohol, the higher the better. Lower-proof alcohol, like vodka, is not ideal. Use this guide to finding high-proof alcohol, if needed.
- *You do not need to use the full 8 ounces of alcohol, you just need enough to cover all of the cannabis in the container you are using. Anything more is a waste.
- *How long to soak? I’ve seen traditional, long-soak tinctures steep anywhere between a few hours to up to 6 months, or longer, in some cases. Soaking your plant material for longer will slightly increase the potency, but will also increase the amount of chlorophyll and plant matter in your final infusion.
- If you want to make FECO, follow this guide for how to safely evaporate the alcohol from the tincture.
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Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Lab tests here suggest that letting the tincture steep for up to 30 days will produce the most potent end product.
You can, but it won’t be as potent as a tincture made with high-proof alcohol. The higher the alcohol content, the more effective the solvent.
Yes, if you prepare your tincture with THC-dominant flower and decarb, there is a potential for your own green dragon tincture to get you high, depending on how much you consume.
If you want to gauge the effectiveness of a tincture, start with a small dosage and then increase it drop by drop until you feel the effects. Add or omit drops as needed until you find your sweet spot. If you know the potency of your final product, you may be able to start with more drops of tincture, depending on your dosage requirements. For best results, check my dosing guide first.
Yes, you can; however, it is best to use dried flowers if you want a longer shelf life. Remember, moisture is the enemy of any tincture.
If you know the % THC or CBD in your starting material and you weighed it to know how many grams you used; you can input these values into my edibles potency calculator to get a guesstimate of your final potency.
While most of the good stuff will now be in your tincture, yes, there will be trace amounts of cannabinoids left over in the plant material, making it worth saving for some people. Discover all of the different ways to use the leftover pulp here.
The burn is real. To help reduce it, you have a few options. You can leave the tincture to sit at room temperature for several days to evaporate, or you can follow one of these methods to evaporate some of the alcohol. If you want to keep it simple, adding a few drops of tincture to a glass of hot water or tea is a great way to naturally evaporate the alcohol.
No. Many people think that a very dark green tincture means it’s a good product; however, color has no correlation with potency. As you will learn, following the QWET method results in a lighter color tincture with similar potency.
It is totally understandable to have reasons to want to be alcohol-free. When it comes to cannabis, you have a few options. 1. Make this homemade cannabis tincture and evaporate off nearly all of the alcohol so there is none left. 2. Make an oil infusion instead. 3. Try a vegetable glycerin tincture.
Yes, you can; however, you do not need a machine to make a cannabis tincture; it is easy enough to do yourself at home.
Technically, yes, but you don’t really need to. You can, however, use your crockpot to create a water bath that will help evaporate some of the alcohol at the end.
Recipes You Will Love Using Tincture
Once you have your cannabis tincture prepared, you can use it in many different types of recipes.
Our most popular recipes for using a cannabis tincture include:
Cannabis Dessert Recipes
How to Make Cannabis Sugar – Quick & Easy Guide
Cannabis Dessert Recipes
How to Make Cannabis-Infused Lollipops 🍭
Cannabis Drink Recipes
Hi
I just decarbed 7 grams of homegrown flower. Going to add it with 151 proof vodka to jar. Does size of Mason jar matter? I notice you have a very small one in pic. I only have the 16 oz sizes. They’ll be a lot of empty space.
Hi there Ken, congratulations on your first homegrown harvest! That’s so exciting. 😊 When it comes to making green dragon, the important thing is that the decarbed cannabis is fully submerged in the vodka. If all of your material is covered by the vodka in the pint jar, then you’re good to go. Remember, patience is key when making green dragon. Here’s to a successful infusion!
Thank you very much for your helpful recipes love making tinctures I’m new to it my first batch I used 2ouces of decarbed bud and 16 ounces of 190 ever clear in my infusium machine made butter with ghee have made brownies people swear by them and want more can you suggest proper mixture on bud versus alcohol
Hi there James, I’m so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying the recipes and finding success with your homemade tinctures! The mixture ratio can vary based on personal preference, but a commonly recommended starting point is a 1:10 ratio of cannabis to alcohol by weight. So, for every gram of cannabis, you’d use 10 ml of alcohol. Remember, the potency of the material you are starting with matters most. Keep in mind, this is not a hard and fast rule, and feel free to adjust based on your own experiences and preferences. Remember, it’s all about experimenting and finding what works best for you. Happy tincture making 🌿
Can I Soak Weed in Scotch Whisky To Make Green Dragon
Hi Craig. Absolutely, but it’s important to make note of a few things. Using Scotch whisky adds a unique flavor profile to the tincture, but isn’t as strong as other alcohols. Typically, using Everclear or other high-proof spirits is recommended since they have a higher alcohol content which aids in the extraction of cannabinoids. So, while Scotch whisky can be used, it may result in a slightly different final product regarding taste and lower potency. I hope this helps!
Thank you for the excellent article. My tinctures look more like green dragon, very dark in color. I have kept my tinctures up to 6 months. I find that the potency does not increase with age!
Hi Debra. Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to read our article on tinctures. We appreciate your feedback and are glad that you found it helpful!
I’m using 375ml 151 proof with a half ounce of decarb. I sampled the cooled chaff on a cookie to be sure it hit before putting it in the alcohol. I def wanna evaporate half the alcohol off cause I don’t wanna feel the burn. I’m headed to ur article on full evaporation next to see if I can do that.
So one ounce(29.57ml) bottles dosed 1ml at a time would be a good start? For some reason I’m panicking on which bottles to order off Prime.
Question, could one dilute their tincture with coconut or olive oil? Like if u gave the bottle a healthy shake before each use, could the oil help sublingual ingestion or would it just separate right away like a lava lamp?
Thanks for this article. It’s straight to the point and quite helpful. Ima go click that link now.
❤️
Hi Meanie Beanie. Starting with one-ounce (29.57ml) bottles dosed at 1ml increments sounds like a good plan. As for ordering the bottles, we understand the panic of choosing the right ones from Prime. Our suggestion would be to look for bottles that are specifically designed for tincture storage. Reading customer reviews can also give you some insight into the quality and functionality of different options.
Regarding diluting your tincture with coconut or olive oil, it’s important to note that alcohol and oil don’t mix well together. If you were to shake the mixture vigorously, it might temporarily emulsify, but it will eventually separate, resembling a lava lamp. You can evaporate off all the alcohol from the tincture, leaving behind FECO (Full-Extract Cannabis Oil). Mixing the FECO with an oil is a preferred method over the burn from an alcohol tincture.
If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. Happy extracting!
Maybe a silly question, maybe not. My state does not sell everclear but I’m wondering a few years back I made some homemade vanilla with everclear would I now be able to use that and end up with vanilla tincture or would I just be wasting ounces of vanilla. Go easy I’m just learning.
Hi Tracey. Not a silly question at all! It’s great to see that you’re curious and eager to learn more about making tinctures. My biggest concern is that that the vanilla beans might have already absorbed some of the alcohol content, which could affect the final potency of your cannabis tincture.
If you’re open to experimenting, you could give it a shot with a small amount of cannabis and a small amount of your vanilla extract to start, just to see how the flavors blend and if you’re happy with the final potency. If you do give it a try, let us know how it goes. Good luck!
What would the kief to alcohol ratio be in a tincture? I have decarbed kief that I’d like to start using in more than just butter.
Hi S. The kief to alcohol ratio in a tincture depends on your desired potency and personal preferences. Kief is more concentrated than regular cannabis flower, so you’ll need less of it to achieve the same strength.
A general guideline is to use a ratio of 1 gram of kief to 3-5 fluid ounces (90-150 ml) of high-proof alcohol. This will create a moderately potent tincture. However, this ratio can be adjusted based on your desired strength. If you prefer a stronger tincture, you can increase the amount of kief used or decrease the volume of alcohol. For a milder tincture, you can either use less kief or increase the amount of alcohol. ? Enjoy!
do you do you have a machine that takes the alcohol and pot material and makes tincture
Hey Ann Marie, making your own tincture at home is so simple that you don’t need to spend money on any special machines. All you need is your cannabis material, some high-proof alcohol, and a little patience. The process involves combining the cannabis and alcohol in a jar, letting it sit for a couple of weeks while shaking it occasionally, and then straining out the plant material to leave behind your tincture. It’s straightforward and cost-effective, and you’ll have a homemade product that’s just as effective as anything made with fancy equipment.
How can you tell if the flower needs to be dried more before decarbing? My husband says the flower we get from the weed store is so moist it gums up the grinder. Whats your opinion please?
Hi Janet. There are a few ways to tell if flower needs to be dried more before decarbing. One way is to look at the color of the flower and feel how its texture. If it is still a bright green, soft, and squishy, it needs to be dried more. If it is dry and crumbly, it is ready to be decarbed. It’s important to know that if the flower is too moist, it will not decarb properly because the moisture prevents the heat from evenly distributing throughout the flower. I hope this helps!
Fantastic informative work. I have some organic, virgin, cold pressed, unrefined and filtered hemp oil. Can i use this as a carrier oil for my FECO ?
Hi pigneguy. That makes for a fantastic carrier oil.
A little something to share. I have been having a dilemma with Green vs Gold dragon .. but in the end I want a little more potency so I went Green Dragon … still wanted to improve the colour .. and after much research out in www, came up with the following:
Once your soak is completed , put the mason Jar in the freezer for 24 hours (will precipitate out the waxes etc) … then immediately filter thru a small ultra fine kitchen sieve and then thru a coffee filter ….
The Result:
Colour in-between Green and Gold,
Potent
much lighter in colour
Better taste (not so bitter and full of chlorophyll)
Hope this is useful (this is a great site!!)
Hi Paul! Thank you so much for your feedback. Our readers are always looking for new techniques to try! Have you checked out Emily’s lab results for Golden Dragon vs. Green Dragon? It’s well worth the read! Golden Dragon vs. Green Dragon Tincture
Hi Emily
Firstly this is a great site and thanks so much for sharing all your knowledge and experience with us.
I was wondering what your thoughts are on making Green Dragon with a couple of the Gold Dragon steps in it … ie freeze cannabis and everclear,
combine , shake and then leave in a dark place for 3 weeks …
And I notice you leave the heads largely intact instead of broken up … what’s the thinking behind that
Hi Paul. That is an excellent question. Have you seen the lab results of the Green Dragon vs Gold Dragon? Take a look over them here: Golden Dragon vs. Green Dragon Tincture and you can decide if it’s beneficial to soak for the extended time. ⏰ We don’t recommend breaking up the cannabis too much because you lose a lot of the trichomes in the process, which decreases the potency of your cannabis. Does that make sense?
Hi,
Can I use THCA crystals to make a tincture, or is it essential to uae flower? I do want to have maximum THC in the final product, so I’m assuming the crystals need to go through a decarb phase. If so, should I pre-bake for 40 min. at 40 degrees, or could I use a heating method for alcohol evaporation that would convert THCA into THC/delta-9?
Thanks for your website! It has been helpful.
-Will from Tennessee
Hi Will. You can use THCA crystals to make a tincture, but you definitely want to decarb for THC at 240º for 25-30 minutes, or until it stops bubbling. When evaporating alcohol with heat, the temperature doesn’t usually get high enough for effective decarb.
Thank you very much for all your work. Your recipes and your site are awesome, well explained and very informative. Keep the great job ?
Hi LuPietro. Thank you so much for your kind words. You put a big smile on Emily’s face as well as mine! Emily works hard to improve the cannabis education she offers continuously and it’s always rewarding to receive such wonderful feedback. We love that you love us. ? Thanks again!
Yes, I made a green dragon tincture and I used 3.5 grams of decarbed flower, I covered it with a littler more everclear than I should have and did not reduce the alcohol at first so I took a full dropper of it last night and this morning woke up feeling like I did not get a goods nights rest. Is this because I did not evaporate the alcohol at all? I also let the tincture sit for 2 weeks. I don’t drink because I have a sensitivity but I’ve loved how the tincture makes me feel, I’m not sure if it’s just the alcohol period for me. Thank you
Hi Christina. It could be that the tincture isn’t strong enough for the desired effects you are looking for. You have two options. You can consume more until you reach your desired effect, or you can evaporate off some alcohol to make the tincture stronger, then take a dropper and adjust accordingly. I hope this helps!
Hi Emily, does a tincture affect sleep in anyway? Thank you.
Hi Christina. Tinctures affect everyone differently, but CBN tinctures will definitely affect one’s sleep. Do you have particular concerns?