So you've made a cannabis tincture, and now you’re ready to evaporate off the alcohol to remove the burn, concentrate the volume, or make FECO - but you’ve heard it can be potentially dangerous. This guide will review all the different ways to evaporate alcohol from cannabis tinctures safely and effectively.
Features
- Safety considerations for evaporating alcohol
- No-heat and low-heat options
- Other important factors to consider
Why You Will Love This Guide
You've made (or want to make) an alcohol-based cannabis tincture.
You've heard that they're a great way to medicate and reap the benefits of cannabis.
But you're currently stuck with this unpleasant, burning alcohol mixture that doesn't taste or feel good.
What can you do to fix the problem? Evaporate the alcohol!
But how? Especially when the process can be potentially dangerous.
This guide will teach you how to evaporate the alcohol safely so you can eliminate the burn, concentrate for use in cannabis recipes, and make FECO easily.
Stock Your Canna Kitchen
Skip the hard work and have perfectly dosed, delicious, pure Bliss Cannabutter delivered directly to your door! Shop Now →
Ingredient Notes
- Alcohol-based Cannabis Tincture: You can follow the Green dragon or Golden dragon method.
- Note: this process will not work with oil-based tinctures like MCT oil
Note: a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions is located in the recipe card below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1 - If you haven't already, prepare a cannabis tincture. You can follow the Green dragon or Golden dragon method.
- Step 2 - Do not forget to strain the tincture; this is very important.
- Step 3 - Place the tincture in a mason jar that fits in the mini-crockpot. Carefully pour water into the crockpot, but around the jar, creating a water bath. Turn the mini-crock pot on warm and allow the water to heat up. Do not leave the lid on the jar. Do this in a room with good ventilation to keep the windows open and airflow moving.
- Step 4 - Let the tincture sit in the water bath and wait. The warmth of the water bath will cause the alcohol to begin evaporating into the air. How long this will take will depend on the volume you start with. For example, 1 cup of tincture took approximately 4-5 hours to evaporate into FECO. More volume will take longer, and less will be shorter. The alcohol will evaporate during the cooking process, reducing the volume and leaving behind a thick, black, sticky substance. This black oil is FECO, or your medicine.
Note: complete step-by-step printable instructions are located in the recipe card below.
Storage Instructions
Store your FECO in a glass syringe, capsule, or airtight glass container. Store in a cool, dark place like a medicine cabinet.
FECO can be stored in the refrigerator for longer-term storage and in the freezer for even more long-term storage (6+ months).
Learn more about how to store edibles here.
Why Evaporate The Alcohol?
Whether you’ve made the Green Dragon long soak tincture or the Golden Dragon QWET freezer tincture, you've likely used high-proof alcohol.
The high-proof alcohol used during extraction is no doubt harsh and unpleasant for consumption.
But using high-proof alcohol is a necessary evil because it's a powerful solvent that helps extract the cannabinoids we want, like CBD and THC, from the plant matter we don't want.
The good thing is that you can completely eliminate the alcohol from the tincture through evaporation, leaving behind all the good stuff.
Evaporation can happen naturally at room temperature or speed up the process by introducing heat. Heat evaporates the alcohol faster, leaving concentrated medicine behind.
Additionally, air movement, such as with a fan, can help to evaporate the alcohol faster as well.
Remember, evaporation can only happen when the tincture is exposed to air. It will not evaporate if covered with a lid.
There are many ways to introduce heat to evaporate the alcohol from a tincture, some of which are safer than others.
Let’s will review them below.
Safety Considerations
First, let's ensure we are safely evaporating the alcohol in a way that does not cause physical harm.
Here are the most important safety considerations to keep in mind before getting started.
Flames
High-proof alcohol is highly flammable and should not be exposed to open flames.
Exposing alcohol to open flames may start a fire or cause an explosion.
When evaporating alcohol, take similar precautions when handling gasoline or other flammable liquids and avoid open flames.
Skin Contact
Strong alcohol may cause skin irritation when there is direct contact.
Always wear protective gloves when handling alcohol to minimize the risk of irritating your hands.
Removing all contaminated clothing and washing it thoroughly after handling it is also good.
Eye Contact
Avoid splashing alcohol on or near your face, as it can be dangerous for your eyes.
If you accidentally get alcohol in your eyes, clean the eyes with water or regular saline.
If symptoms do not disappear after twenty minutes of washing, seek medical help.
Inhalation
It is recommended to evaporate the alcohol in an open place or a well-ventilated room.
Do not allow the vapor to come directly into your nose.
If you feel you have inhaled the alcohol vapor, move to an open place with good air circulation.
Safe Evaporation Options
The main risk during the evaporation of alcohol is starting a fire or an explosion.
That means if you have a gas stove, you should not use it to evaporate the alcohol!
Since you are not advised to use an open flame, there are many safe alternatives that involve the use of no heat or indirect heat.
No Heat Method
You can actually evaporate the alcohol off just by letting the tincture sit at room temperature, but that can take a very long time.
Below is a picture of a shot glass I filled with 1 ounce of the tincture. It took approximately 3-4 days for the alcohol to evaporate.
This timing will depend on how much liquid is in the glass and the temperature settings where you are.
If you're patient, this no-heat evaporation process works just fine.
I recommend adding a coffee filter or other breathable material to the top of the container when air drying to keep any contaminants from getting in.
Indirect Heat Methods
Indirect heat is one of the safest, most popular methods to introduce heat to the container containing the alcohol for evaporation.
We can safely speed up evaporation by introducing low heat without flames.
There are many simple ways to do this.
Here are some options my Well With Cannabis Community members have reported using as indirect heat sources:
- A mini-crockpot
- Water bath in a crockpot
- Heating pad
- Coffee warmer
- Candle warmer
- Instant Pot
- Rice cooker
When introducing indirect heat, I suggest placing the tincture in a mason jar first. This will collect the important FECO leftover at the end of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Evaporating the alcohol can be brand new to even the most seasoned cannabis consumer, so here are some of the most common FAQs I get asked from my Well With Cannabis Community.
Check out this guide here where you can discover how to order high-proof grain alcohol online and have it shipped to your door, or learn more about what to ask for when visiting your local liquor store.
These are just two different tincture-making methods. The Green dragon involves a long soak of 24-hours or more, and the Golden dragon involves the freezer and a short soak of a few minutes. You can learn more about the potency differences in these methods here.
If you have questions or are looking for guidance on your journey, I definitely recommend joining the Well With Cannabis Community where you can ask questions and get support.
Recipes To You Make With Your Tincture
My Edibles Made Easy Online Cooking Course will teach you how to easily make cannabis edibles and topical recipes at home. This step-by-step video course will teach you how to infuse, extract, and create edibles with many different product types - all from the comfort of your own home.
Learn more and enroll today →
How to Evaporate Alcohol From Tinctures
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 ounces cannabis tincture *Any volume you desire
Instructions
- Place the mason jar in the mini-crockpot. Carefully pour water into the crockpot but around the jar, creating a water bath. Turn the mini-crock pot on warm and allow the water to heat up.
- Ensure you do not have the lid on the jar, as this will slow or prevent the evaporation process. I recommend doing this in a room with good ventilation to keep the windows open and airflow moving.
- The time it takes to evaporate the alcohol will depend on the starting volume, or how much tincture you have. For example, 1 cup of tincture will take approximately 4-5 hours to evaporate into FECO. More volume will mean more time, and less volume will mean less time.
- The alcohol will evaporate during the heating process, reducing the volume and leaving behind a thick, black, sticky substance. This black oil is your medicine.
- If this black oil gets too sticky or hard to work with, add a few drops of alcohol or carrier oil to the jar and mix well to create a more viscous oil.
- Store your FECO in a glass syringe, capsule, or another airtight glass container. Store in a cool, dark place like a medicine cabinet.
Notes
- 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 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 alternative evaporation options, follow this guide for how to safely evaporate the alcohol.
L
Hi! When evaporating at room temperature, is there an ideal for the conditions the glass is left in? Humidity? Airflow? Light exposure? Thanks in advance!
Emily Kyle
L, the warmer the temperature, the quicker it will evaporate. Air circulation will help speed up the process, too 🙂
Francine
Would you please tell me how to use the coffee warmer to evaporate the alcool…..how long to leave it, etc.
Thanks so very much. ♥️
Emily Kyle
Hello Francine. I would put your tincture in a mason jar (with the lid off) and place the mason jar on the coffee warmer and turn it on. How long it will take will depend on your starting volume. You will know it's working when the volume begins to decrease and you see a black sticky substance left behind. That is the FECO 🙂
Lynsey
Thank you for this!! How will you know when the alcohol has evaporated?
Emily Kyle
You are most welcome, Lynsey! You will know when all of the alcohol is evaporated when you are left with a black, thick, sticky substance - that is your FECO 🙂
Roman Haller
Hi Emily. Your site is great! A big THANK YOU for your work!
As to evaporating alcohol, I think I have discovered another good method: I put the tincture in a shallow Pyrex dish and use a hairdryer directly on the liquid. It’s great because it combines heat and blowing the alcohol fumes away. Temps will stay below the 150C THC breakdown threshold. You don’t want to hold the hairdryer too close to the tincture in order to not overheat it or spill any tincture. This method is super fast!
Emily Kyle
Hey Roman! Thank you so much for your kind words, and thank you so much for sharing your fantastic method with us!! I really appreciate it 😀
David
Hi Emily. I love your articles. Thank you for you in-depth resources.
I’ve made some alcohol tincture according to your recipes but the high proof is way to “hot” for me to take sublingually.
Once I evaporate off the desired amount of alcohol, can I use the remaining to infuse with MCT Oil to make it more palatable?
Thanks.
Emily Kyle
Hey David, thanks so much for your kind words 🙂 Yes - the alcohol can burn so much! You absolutely can mix the remaining with MCT oil - I hope it makes the final product more enjoyable.
Will
Hi Emily,
Great website and info.
Long time pot smoker user 1967 - present
Using it now to help deal with cancer.
Any feeling about best strains for pain?
I’m switching from making your excellent chocolate chip cookies to gummies. I have everything (plastic pet syringe) and instant pot but what temp do I set it at?
Emily Kyle
Hey Will, thanks so much for reaching out, I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with cancer! I find that strains are very unique to each one of us, it's important to experiment to find what works best for you! As for the IP, I would set it to slow cook low - you can find full directions here 🙂
robert allen
after evaporation, how do you recover the Good Stuff ?
Emily Kyle
Hey Robert. That good stuff is FECO and I have a complete guide including the syringes I use to gather it all. You can read more here.
Kate
If using an induction stove top, what temp do I set it at. Flower was decarbed then processed in an infusion machine with everclear. Thanks!!!!!!
Emily Kyle
I would start with the lowest temperature first and then adjust as needed. Going low and slow is the best option to ensure it doesn't get too hot 🙂
Lynsey
I have let me tincture sit at room temp for a few weeks and it went from 6 oz to about 1-2oz. It’s still like a liquid and doesn’t appear sticky yet. It also still has a bit of alcohol burn. I’m going to place it on my candle warmer to help it along. My question is, not ever having made this particular tincture with high grain alcohol, is will it always have a horrible, slightly burning taste?
Thank you for your time:)
Emily Kyle
Hello Lynsey! Yes, as long as there is alcohol still present in the mixture, you will feel the burn, too. Unfortunately, the taste of the final product, FECO, isn't great either, but thankfully, you only need to use a little bit to get the effect 🙂
Devin
I've left my tincture out to evaporate. I didn't see the part about putting a coffee filter on top so it's been out in open air for a couple days. There's some brown spots forming on the top of the liquid. There's still quite a bit of liquid. Is this normal? Or could it be bacteria growing?
Emily Kyle
Hey Devin, it sounds like that is the FECO forming - you are looking for a thick, sticky, black oil at the end. It is unlikely it is bacteria growing given the strength of the alcohol, but theres always a possibility of cross contamination. I would use your best judgement!
lacie
This is my first batch I am using the crackpot bath method to evaporate. I have it on low. What temp is maximum temp to use this slow cooker recipe
Emily Kyle
Hey Lacie - all crockpots have different temperatures for high and low, so I would just keep it at low to be safe 🙂
George
I made my first tincture using the freeze method and 190 proof grain alcohol. I then evaporated the alcohol using an instant pot eater bath. The alcohol solution before it evaporated stayed around 180 degrees F. Once evaporated to FECO, I mixed in a small amount of olive oil to combine and make it easy to use a dropper (I read that somewhere and I don’t mind the taste). I tried a couple drops last night and really didn’t feel anything. Do you think it got too hot?
Emily Kyle
Hey George. No, I wouldn't think it got too hot. I would suggest taking more than a few drops to see if it's a dosing issue.
James
Hey, I was wondering if you lose any THC during the burnoff/evap process? I was using the tincture when it had more everclear and it worked great, when I evaporated the alcohol left the FECO was there but it wasn't more concentrated, like some of the THC had been burned off!
Emily Kyle
Hey James! I'm sorry to hear this 🙁 It is possible if you used too much heat during the evaporation process, THC can begin to burn off at 340°F+.
Shakimono
You’re sooo needed and appreciated! Thank you Emily Kyle!
Emily Kyle
You are so kind, thanks for your sweet words, Shakimono 😀
Beau
Hi..
I just finished making tincture with my left over leaves and some buds from my summer plantings. I now have around 6 oz of tincture, which I'd like to to have evaporate to around 2 oz. I'm thinking about using a heating pad, but am concerned it might catch fire. How hot can alcohol get before it explodes?
Emily Kyle
Hey Beau 🙂 No need to do something you feel uncomfortable with. If you want to choose a non-electric option, you can try putting the actual tincture jar inside a pan of warm/hot water and letting it evaporate that way. I hope this helps!
Albus
Okay but it's sticky according to you. How to I make sure I get it removed from the jar to ensure I'm mixing equal quantites in my stopper bottles? Can I use FECO in say coconut oil or coconut paste for salves? I'm looking for around 5000 mg's per ounce
Emily Kyle
Albus, the best way to remove everything from the jar is to use a little bit of alcohol or oil to capture the rest. Yes, you can absolutely use FECO in either coconut oil or salves. First, calculate the potency of your FECO, and then add your desired amount to the 1 ounce preparation.
Gary Shields
Hi Emily
What sort of volumes are we talking about when reducing Tincture to FECO?
Etc reduce half off two thirds etc
Thanks Gary
Emily Kyle
Hello Gary! For FECO, you're going for 95-99% reduction. The goal is to remove as much alcohol as possible, leaving just a tiny concentrated amount. Here is my FECO guide if you need it 🙂
Mick Reed
Hi, making some tincture for my mother with cancer. for the evaporating process, is using a rice cooker too hot ?
Emily Kyle
Hello Mick, I am so sorry to hear about your mother. I think a rice cooker should be just fine 🙂 Good luck!
bryan
Hey Emily,
I accidentally evaporated 99.9% of the alcohol out of my plant material. Can I safely start the process over with the same plant material?
Emily Kyle
Hello Bryan! Yes, you can add more alcohol in to reconstitute and restart the process 🙂 Good luck!
Spencer
I'm trying to make a tincture for an alcoholic and I've been trying glycerin infusion without much luck (potency leaves a lot to be desired) I'm thinking about trying this method but I want to make sure: Does burning off the alcohol make it suitable for someone who can't have any alcohol?
Emily Kyle
Hello Spencer! Yes, burning off all of the alcohol would make an option suitable for someone who cannot have alcohol. When you get to the final stages of making FECO, you can add a few drops of oil to make a tincture that would work well in this situation.
J Johnson
Hi Emily!
First I would like to thank you for your tincture recipe. After 15 days of allowing the mixture soak, I have filtered it and sampled it. The taste and burn was fine for me but my fiance couldn't handle it so I'm using the water bath/ crockpot method to evap the alcohol. I'm keeping the temp just under 180F and out of 4 oz starting I am now left with under 2 oz in about 65 min. I chose 180F because I don't want to lose any terpenes or flavenoids, I'm using "Runtz", a 50/50 hybrid that I grew this year. It has a very good flavor raw and I'm hoping to retain that flavor, or as much as possible. My question is, after straining the plant matter from the alcohol (before evap) is there any reason I couldn't add new decarbed bud to the tincture and let it sit a couple more weeks? It seems like it would increase the terps, cbd and thc content. Would I have a "super-tincture" after a couple weeks of extraction?
Emily Kyle
Hello J Johnson, I am so glad you have been successful in tincture making so far. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, let us know if you give it a try and how it turns out 😀
Mike J Shadeh
6How can I make a salve from a tincture?
Emily Kyle
Hey Mike! If it is an oil-based tincture, you can use it in place of the oil called for in this recipe. If it is alcohol-based, evaporate the alcohol and then melt it directly into a prepared salve. I hope this helps!
Mike J Shadeh
What does tincture look like when alcohol is completely evaporated RSO?
Emily Kyle
Hey Mike! It looks like a thick, black, sticky substance. Here is my guide for FECO (similar to RSO) and the pictures here will show you what you look for. I hope this helps!
Cori
Hi Emily,
I have made a tincture with 80 proof alcohol and I let it sit about a month before I strained it. The burn is way too much for me for daily use so I’m looking to use the indirect heat method to burn it off. My question would be, how would I use it once I have done that? Do I add the FECO to another liquid at that point for daily use or just take as is?
Emily Kyle
Hello Cori. Yes, once you have your FECO made, you can mix it with a few drops of oil, your choice what kind, and can then use that however you would like 🙂 I hope this helps!
LM
Can I place the strained, filtered concoction in a mason jar without the lid into a pot of almost-boiling water (making sure not to let the mason jar contact the bottom of the pot containing the hot water) and let it sit, while occasionally stirring the tincture, to help evaporate some or most of the alcohol? How long do you think this would take? I’m also assuming if you let it get too hot, it’ll burn away some of the good stuff? But there’s definitely not any thc that’s attached to the alcohol molecules that are being evaporated? Like it definitely shouldn’t weaken the strength, if done properly? And how will I know when most of the alcohol has been evaporated? Will the color/consistency of the tincture change significantly? Or is tasting it the best bet? Like should I be able to taste a reduced alcohol taste once most of it has been evaporated off? Thanks
Emily Kyle
Hey LM.
1. Yes, you can place the mason jar into the water and let it sit to evaporate the alcohol.
2. I can't say how long it will take without knowing the volume. The larger the volume, the longer it takes. It can take several hours.
3. If the water is not boiling, it won't get too hot to burn away anything important.
4. No, you are not losing and THC through the evaporation process.
5. You will know when it's evaporated when it looks like a black, sticky, thick mixture. See pictures here. Yes, the color and consistency will change significantly.
6. Tasting it will only let you know if there is alcohol left, it will burn if present.
7. If all of the alcohol is evaporated, there will be no alcohol taste or burn.
I hope this helps!
Sam
Can you reconstitute the evaporated tincture with other liquids. Are ther different liquids that would help increase shelf life?
Emily Kyle
Hey Sam, yes, you can! The most popular option is to use a carrier oil, like MCT or olive. I don't know if the different liquids would help extend the shelf life specifically. I hope this helps!
Jessica mansilla
How long in the crockpot??
Emily Kyle
Hello Jessica. That depends entirely on the volume you are reducing. It could be several hours. You will know when the alcohol is evaporated when there is only a thick, black liquid left, known as FECO.
Robyn McCrary
Hi Emily , I have a mini crockpot used for keeping party dips warm. Do I place my mason jar directly into the crockpot ? I worry the heat might cause the glass to bust. Or should I pour the tincture into the mini and turn it on? Or do I water bath the mason jar? So new at all this! Thanks!
Emily Kyle
Hello Robyn. Either option will work, but I find it easier to keep things clean with a mason jar. If you use the mason jar, then yes, you can put a towel down between that and the pot to keep it safe. And then yes, you’ll create a water bath. I hope this helps!
Rasha
I have about 5 cups of tincture. I am wanting to use the crockpot method. So am I just adding the tincture to Mason jars, putting those in the crockpot and running it on low? If so, do the Mason jars need lids?
Emily Kyle
Hello Rasha, how exciting! Yes, the tincture in a mason jar, the mason jar in the crockpot. But then you need to add water to the crockpot, so it is surrounding the mason jar, but not in it. No lids! I hope this helps 🙂
Lu
Hello, my question is about strength and dosing when evaporating. When using the calculators to determine how much alcohol / grams of flower to get to a certain potency per milliliter… if I want to evaporate off some alcohol and add honey after the extraction, how do I redetermine strength/potency with the final evaporated+honey elixir?
Emily Kyle
Hello Lu, great question. When you calculate the potency of your tincture, the total mg of THC remains the same whether it is in tincture form or the alcohol has been evaporated. For example, if your tincture is made with 200mg of total THC in 1 cup of alcohol, the reduced FECO should still contain 200mg of THC; it's just now in a smaller volume. From there, you're working with 200mg THC per however much honey you add. If you add just one teaspoon, it will be 200mg per teaspoon, but if you add 1/4 cup (12 teaspoons), it will be 16.6mg THC per teaspoon (200/16). I hope this makes sense and helps!
Bruce
Hi, how much cannabis flower will yield approximately 10ml of FECO?
Thanks
Emily Kyle
Hello Bruce! It is hard to give an exact answer because it depends on various factors, including the composition of your plant material and your tincture-making process. However, it will likely take several ounces to produce 10mL.
Viviam
Thank you for all the amazing information, Emily. I keep reading your content and I'm obsessed with it!
I have some questions though.
I've done FECO with 2 washes and evaporated the alcohol with a rice cooker for my husband with cancer. But I also did the 3rd and 4th washes to make another kind of FECO, less concentrated. The 3rd wash would be to take it orally too but in less severe conditions (for me or my friends with anxiety, sleep problems, bowel disease), and the 4th to make it for topical use (for burns, dry and irritated skin maybe too).
1- Do you think the 3rd and 4th washes will be medicinal too to less severe conditions and topical use, the way I described it? What's your opinion?
2- What carrier would you use for topical use? MCT, the same for oral use?
3- I'd love to make some lip balm and hand/foot cream for this winter as well in Canada if you have any tips on what type of product to mix with the FECO. Maybe cacao butter? Would that work somehow for this kind of use?
Thank you!! 🙂
Emily Kyle
Hello Viviam; thank you so much for visiting the website; I am so glad you are enjoying it. 1 - I don't think it would hurt to experiment with and see what outcome you get, but the first two washes will likely take most of the medicinal benefits with them. 2 - MCT is great for oral use, like sublingual tinctures. As for topicals, I would first think about how you want to use them. Do you want to make a salve, a balm, or a cream? What type of oil does your desired end product call for? After that, it just comes down to personal preference. 3 - I have a lip balm recipe, add a bit of your FECO to the warm ingredients, and you should be good to go. Enjoy!
Dave D
I'm reading about the "HOW TO EVAPORATE ALCOHOL FROM TINCTURES', but nowhere does it state exactly what to do with each type of "Indirect heat method's".
I guess the crock pot method would be best for me, so what is the directions for that method? Thank you for your response.
Emily Kyle
Hello Dave, thanks so much for visiting and letting me know that more step-by-step instructions would be helpful! I've just revamped this post to add a ton of step-by-step guidance; simply click "Jump to Guide" at the top of the page to get the printable instructions 😀
Super Dave
What machine do you recommend to recapture your alcohol
Paul
After evaporation process all alcohol is gone but what I'm left with is way to hard and thick not oily at all. What to do or add to be able to get this in a syringe
Renée from Team EKN
Hi Super Dave. At this time, we do not have a machine to recommend for recapturing alcohol.
Renée from Team EKN
Hi Paul. You can add a small amount of carrier oil, like coconut or olive, to the FECO and it should loosen it up and make it easier to work with. You can add as much as you need to go to get into a syringe, but you won't need a lot. Hope this helps!