Someone I know has experimented several times with Master Wu's most recent recommendations, and has never been disappointed. :hippy: In an attempt to arrive at an even more concentrated tincture requiring far fewer drops than the original formula, this aquaintance has had outstanding success with the following procedure:

Ingredients:
  • 1 oz. High Quality Herb Tops. No stems, shake, or other extraneous crap.
  • 8 oz. Everclear (190 Proof)



Process Summary:

1. Using a small electric coffee grinder, chop herb tops to a fine, uniform mix.
2. Pre-heat oven to exactly 325 degrees.
3. Uniformly spread chopped herb in flat/shallow, oven-proof utensil, and bake at 325 degrees for exactly 5 minutes. Remove from oven IMMEDIATELY! Odor will be strong, and some steaming will be noticeable.
4. Combine baked herb with 8 oz. Everclear in tight fitting jar. Store unrefrigerated in the dark for several weeks. Even though you can proceed immediately to Step 5., a long soaking period appears to be very desirable.
5. Prepare a shallow water bath (+/- 2 in. deep) by heating a medium size pot of water.
6. Pour herb/Everclear mixture into a Pyrex measuring cup (2 cup min. size). Stay away from stove while doing this!
7. Place a thermometer into the Pyrex cup, and then place the cup into the water bath. Simmer and attempt to maintain the temperature of the Everclear mixture at +/- 170 degrees, which is just below the boiling point of alcohol. The objective is to slowly reduce the volume at a high enough temperature without rapidly boiling away the alcohol.
8. Stir the mixture frequently throughout the process while reducing the liquid volume to approximately 2 oz. This may take an hour or more, so be patient and enjoy. At some point, you should interrupt the process and temporarly decant the liquid portion into another measuring cup in order to do a rough volume check before resuming to the 2 oz. endpoint back in the original container.
9. After reducing the liquid volume to approximately 2 oz., pour all contents of the beaker into a metal coffee filter, and press the liquid out of the solid mass. Discard solid mass.
10. Perform a final filtration by pouring the previously filtered liquid thru a paper coffee filter.
11. Store tincture out of light in a colored glass dropper bottle or small plastic, opaque eyedrop bottle (an excellent portable delivery device). Your freezer is an excellent long-term storage location.

Dosage:

Each batch is slightly different, so it is best to self-titrate. A moderately strong dose would be 15 drops in a half can of beer or other drink, so I'm told. The effects are first noticeable in approximately 30 minutes, and may last 5-7 hours. The effects are very favorably enhanced throughout the experience by the moderate consumption of alcohol.