Making tincture using everclear
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Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
the everclear will dissolve the trichs in short order, and also a lot of the other cannabinoids and terps. if you leave the weed in it over about 20 minutes, you start to get a lot of chlorophyll and stuff that makes it taste bad, what they call green dragon...i don't like it that way.
first you have to decarb, then it works best if you put your weed and the alcohol in the freezer for a few hours before you start, and return it there to let it soak the trichs off for about 2 minutes, then strain it. it's technically ready at that point, but a lot of people like to winterize, let it sit in the freezer for a day or two to make the fats and oils settle out, then they can be strained out
first you have to decarb, then it works best if you put your weed and the alcohol in the freezer for a few hours before you start, and return it there to let it soak the trichs off for about 2 minutes, then strain it. it's technically ready at that point, but a lot of people like to winterize, let it sit in the freezer for a day or two to make the fats and oils settle out, then they can be strained out
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
I have a bho / Everclear / moonshine tincture that's over a year old because I screwed up a batch of about 70 grams shatter and then tried to winterize it, then screwed that up. I stuck it in a cabinet and forgot about it until recently.
Autodoctor
Well-Known Member
So I have a bottle of ever clear unopened and plenary of weed. How about some clear instructions on how to make it. I have done the coconut oil method but does work so well making hard candies and want to give the everclear a try.
so that sounds like the longer time will make it stronger, with a trade off in taste. i am one of those that arent to particular about taste so much as effect. its been a day. maybe i'll drain off the everclear now, then maybe make an infused tequila with the remnants..
i read a bunch online and its basically about a liter to an oz (already decarbed). i did .75 liter to an oz and it looks like plenty. all you have to do is soak it, drain it off, then let the alcohol evaporate either over several days at room temp or quicker in a water bath (crock pot on low/med) - but no open flame!!!!!!
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
Alcohol doesn't evaporate at room temp. I tried for over a week until I realized this.
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
it does if the room is dry and warm enough, i must have lower rh than you, or higher temps, or both..but it does go a LOT faster with a little help
C. Nesbitt
Well-Known Member
If you’re using flower, the two week method to make green dragon works, but I do not recommend it. I find it to be almost not consumable. The alcohol pulls everything out and it has a extremely “planty” taste and odor. Very potent and keeps a long time (I’ve got a jar that is 8 years old) but I find the taste and also the aftertaste to be very unpleasant. YMMV
BodegaBud
Well-Known Member
I agree that you have to decarb first because I made it in the past and didn’t have much effect from it. I did just find several small bottles I made with grape ape in 07 but those were the ones I didn’t decarb. For the first time ever last night I took some ground up bud I used the dry ice method on (and would usually just have tossed) and put it on parchment paper in the oven. Later the old lady made spaghetti and I took a pinch and since I’d had a few beer it did the job. Funny thing is I was dreaming about weed all night LOL
I do this regularly. I put decarbed bud or trim (usually around 20 grams, sometimes more) and Everclear in the freezer for at least 24 hours to get them as cold as possible. I empty the plant material into a French coffee press. I use the press because it's insulated and it has some basic filtration built into it. I pour in enough Everclear to cover the plant material with about an extra inch on top. I put that back in the freezer. Every 5 minutes, I pull it out, swirl it around, and put it back in the freezer. After 15 minutes, I pour that off into a jar and put the jar back in the freezer. (I don't squeeze it with the press.) That's the first "wash". It comes out a nice, golden color. (It's golden because of the cold temperature. At room temperature, it would be green with chlorophyll.)
I do two more washes the same way with the bud/trim that's already in the French press and empty each of them into a different jar.
The next day, I use a Buchner funnel with "fast" filter paper to filter out the garbage, which is mostly empty trichome heads. Then I run it through "slow" filter paper. Now it's a very clear, golden liquid.
I have a device called a Source Turbo. I pour one of the jars into the Source and seal it up. It creates a vacuum to lower the boiling point of the Everclear. You can see it boiling like crazy even though the temperature is only 105 degrees F. The low temperature preserves as much of the terpenes as possible. The Everclear boils away, condenses, and can be recovered for reuse.
I do that for all of the jars, then combine all the jars into one and do it one last time. I stop the boil when there's enough liquid left to fill 2-3 small dropper bottles. The liquid is a combination of Everclear and decarbed cannabis oil. I use it under my tongue.
If you don't decarb first, you can boil it down until it starts to thicken and then pour it out on a silicone mat. Let is sit for a few days, maybe with a fan blowing on it. You get some nice concentrate once the alcohol is gone.
I do two more washes the same way with the bud/trim that's already in the French press and empty each of them into a different jar.
The next day, I use a Buchner funnel with "fast" filter paper to filter out the garbage, which is mostly empty trichome heads. Then I run it through "slow" filter paper. Now it's a very clear, golden liquid.
I have a device called a Source Turbo. I pour one of the jars into the Source and seal it up. It creates a vacuum to lower the boiling point of the Everclear. You can see it boiling like crazy even though the temperature is only 105 degrees F. The low temperature preserves as much of the terpenes as possible. The Everclear boils away, condenses, and can be recovered for reuse.
I do that for all of the jars, then combine all the jars into one and do it one last time. I stop the boil when there's enough liquid left to fill 2-3 small dropper bottles. The liquid is a combination of Everclear and decarbed cannabis oil. I use it under my tongue.
If you don't decarb first, you can boil it down until it starts to thicken and then pour it out on a silicone mat. Let is sit for a few days, maybe with a fan blowing on it. You get some nice concentrate once the alcohol is gone.
BodegaBud
Well-Known Member
That’s too much fucking bullshit to deal with man
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
this is a very similar process to making some very very nice qwiso hash!
Yeah, it is a bit of trouble, but not as bad as it sounds. The most time consuming part is breaking up the buds into small pieces before putting into the freezer. I break it apart by hand rather than grinding it. I haven't tried grinding, but I've been told that it releases more chlorophyll than breaking it up by hand. Grinding tears it apart, which "disassembling" it by hand doesn't.
Running it through the Source Turbo takes about 2 hours for each run. That takes longer than breaking up the bud, but I don't count it because it's "wait" time, not "effort" time.
The Source Turbo, Buchner funnel, and beaker to use with the funnel are a bit of an investment as well, but I like the end result whether I'm doing it for tincture or for concentrate.
Being able to recover and reuse the Everclear is helpful.