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Our Canna Tincture is used to enhance our favorite cocktails dreamed up in the fumé Brands test bar. Here’s how we make it along with extraction tips. Thanks to our friends at Leafly for sharing this recipe and schooling us on how to make herbal tinctures. Keep in mind that this is not an exact science so we recommend you experiment. Start by erring on the side of caution and remember that when it comes to THC-infused elixirs, you can always have more but you can’t have less!Â
Equipment:
- Small Ziplock freezer bag
- A small object like a piece of silverware or a stone to weigh down the Ziplock to keep it fully submerged in the water bath
- Clips to attach ziplock to the side of the water bath
- Instapot or medium size pan to use as a water bath
- Small mason jar with lid
- Cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve
- Dark glass tincture bottle with dropper
Ingredients:
- 3.5 grams (one eighth) mid-grade flower (at 17.8% THC potency)
- 3 ounces everclear or other high-proof grain alcohol (151 proof or above)
Makes: 3 ounces (88 mL) tincture, approximately 1760 .05 mL 1 drop servings. Estimated THC/drop is .35 mg.
Directions:
Step 1: Weigh your flower
Weighing the dry flower vs measuring it with standard baking tools ensures greater accuracy and consistency in your results.Â
Pro Tip: We used 3.5 grams (g) for our recipe with 17.8% available THC for extraction. With high-proof alcohol-infusions, you can assume 100% THC extraction. If you do not have access to lab results for your flower, you can estimate 15% THC or 150 mg THC per gram of flower.
Step 2: Grind your flower
Using a spice grinder, pulse flower a few times to break it up. Do not make it into a powder—it should be roughly the size you’d use for a joint. Place in a small mason or ball jar.
Step 3. Decarboxylate your flower in a water bath
Heat a water bath to 200° (note, water boils at 212º so this is just below boiling).
Place ground flower in a small freezer Ziplock bag including a small weighted object, like a piece of silverware or a rock, to keep the bag immersed under the water. Press as much air out as you can and seal. Submerge the bag in your Instapot and cook for 90-minutes. (Note: The Instapot was by far the most foolproof method we tried! If you don’t have one of these magic machines, you can attach the freezer bag to the side of a pot with clips and sous vide and cook on the stovetop. Be sure the ziplock bag stays fully submerged during cooking.) Â
Pro Tip: Optimal home decarboxylation is not an exact science. There are many conflicting time/temperature recommendations out there promising optimal decarboxylation. These worked for us but your mileage—and preferences—may vary. We recommend you approach the process with curiosity and a willingness to experiment to achieve optimal results.
Step 3. Infuse the high-proof alcohol
After 90-minutes, place decarboxylated cannabis in a mason jar with your high-proof alcohol of choice. Make sure it’s 151 proof or higher. Close the jar with a lid and store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks to create your infused tincture, shaking once daily. We recommend you taste check it after a few days for flavor and potency, then every 1-2 days thereafter until you achieve your desired potency and taste—the longer you infuse, the stronger the chlorophyll-like flavor it will have. Once it’s where you want it to be, we recommend straining it and pouring it into a dark glass tincture bottle with a dropper to protect against light and lengthen its shelf life.
Pro Tip: If you’re as impatient as we are, you can get away with shaking it for 3 minutes after initially combining your decarbed flower and grain alcohol before straining and using/storing. We recommend shaking it daily once stored.
Step 4: After a few weeks, strain it through a coffee filter
Dosing Math (if you’re curious!)
- Assuming 100% THC extraction rate using 151 proof grain alcohol, ideally everclear
- 17.8% = 178mg THC/gram of flower
- With 3.5 GRAMS used for this recipe, you have 623 MG total THC for every 3 OUNCES (or 88 mL) of tincture.Â
- Assuming 20 drops in 1 mL, you get a yield of 0.05 mL on average/drop. With 1760 total .05 mL drops in 3 OUNCES or 88 mL of tincture, you can assume .35 mg THC per 1 drop tincture which translates into .7 mg per 2 drops, 1.4 mg per 4 drops.