How to Make a Skullcap Tincture (Fresh or Dried)

Tea is the usual way into skullcap and it is a perfectly good one. But a tincture does two things a cup cannot. It keeps for years rather than a season, and it goes in a bag, which matters if the tension you are treating tends to turn up when you are away from your kitchen.

It is also, frankly, a better fit for skullcap's flavour. Green and grassy is pleasant enough in a mug and irrelevant in a dropper.

We do not make or sell a skullcap tincture. What we sell is the dried garbled herb, which is the raw material, and this is how you turn it into one. If you would rather stay with the simpler preparation, our guide to skullcap tea covers brewing and blending.

Fresh or Dried?

Both work, and they are not quite the same product.

Fresh skullcap is what a lot of herbalists prefer for this plant, tinctured within hours of cutting while the aerial parts are still full of moisture. The catch is access. Fresh skullcap has a very short window and does not ship well, which is why we only offer it by pre-order at wholesale volume rather than in a size that suits a home batch.

Dried is what most people will actually use, it is what we sell in kitchen quantities, and it makes a perfectly serviceable tincture. Well-dried garbled skullcap that still has its green colour and its flowers in it will give you a good extract.

The practical difference is the alcohol. Fresh material brings its own water into the jar, so it wants a higher-proof spirit to compensate. Dried material brings none, so a standard bottled strength is right.

What You Need

• Skullcap. Dried garbled aerial parts, leaf and flower. Or fresh, chopped, if you have it.
• Alcohol. For dried material, a 40 to 50 percent spirit, which is standard 80 to 100 proof vodka. For fresh material, something considerably stronger, in the region of 90 percent or higher where you can buy it.
• A clean glass jar with a tight lid.
• A fine strainer and muslin or a jelly bag.
• Dark glass bottles for storage, dropper-topped if you have them.

Vodka is the default because it is neutral. Brandy works and brings its own sweetness, which some people prefer with a bitter herb.

Making the Tincture

This is the folk method, which is to say it is done by eye and by volume rather than by weight. It is how most home tinctures have been made for a very long time and it works.

1. Fill the jar. For dried skullcap, fill it about one-third to one-half with the herb. For fresh, chop it and pack the jar two-thirds full. Fresh material takes up far more room for the same amount of plant.
2. Cover with alcohol. Pour it in until the herb is submerged with a couple of centimetres to spare. Dried skullcap will drink and swell over the first day, so check it the next morning and top it up if anything has surfaced.
3. Seal and label. Date it, name the herb, and note the alcohol strength. You will not remember in six weeks.
4. Steep four to six weeks somewhere out of direct sun. Shake it when you walk past. Daily is ideal, occasional is fine.
5. Strain. Pour through muslin and then squeeze the marc hard. A surprising amount of finished tincture is still held in the spent herb.
6. Bottle it in dark glass and label it again with the herb, the date, and the strength.

If you would rather work by weight, the conventional ratios are one part dried herb to five parts alcohol, and one part fresh herb to two parts alcohol, both measured as grams to millilitres. That gives you a more repeatable product batch to batch, which matters if you are making the same thing every year.

What It Should Look Like

A finished skullcap tincture runs green to greenish-gold, darkening somewhat over time. It should smell faintly green and vegetal rather than sharp, and it will taste bitter, which is normal and is most of the reason people take it in water rather than straight.

A tincture that came out pale and weak-looking usually means there was not enough plant material in the jar, or the herb was old and had lost most of what it had.

Using It

Skullcap tincture is traditionally taken in a little water, and the bitterness is much easier that way than neat. It is commonly reached for in the evening, or at the point in a long day when the shoulders have been up around the ears for several hours.

We are not going to give you a dose. Tincture strength varies with your ratio, your material, and your method, and what is appropriate varies with the person. Herbalists and reputable references give ranges, and if you are using this regularly rather than occasionally it is worth talking to a practitioner who can look at the whole picture.

Kept sealed, out of light, a tincture at these alcohol strengths will hold for several years. It is one of the few herbal preparations that genuinely outlasts the growing cycle.

A Note on Safety

Skullcap can add to the effects of sedatives, sleep medication, and alcohol, and a tincture is a more concentrated preparation than tea, so that interaction deserves more respect here than it does in a cup. Be sensible about driving.

It is best avoided during pregnancy and while nursing. A tincture also carries its own alcohol content, which is a separate reason for caution in those situations and for anyone avoiding alcohol.

Older sources sometimes link skullcap to liver injury. Those reports trace to commercial material adulterated with germander rather than to skullcap itself, a story we tell properly in our article on mad dog skullcap. It remains a good reason to know the source of your herb, and it does not remove the ordinary caution: if you have a liver condition or take medication affecting the liver, ask your practitioner first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make skullcap tincture from dried herb?

Yes. Dried garbled aerial parts make a perfectly good tincture. Use a 40 to 50 percent spirit, since dried material brings no water of its own into the jar.

What alcohol is best for skullcap tincture?

Neutral vodka at 80 to 100 proof for dried material. For fresh skullcap, a much higher-proof spirit is used to offset the water in the plant.

How long does skullcap tincture need to steep?

Four to six weeks, somewhere out of direct sunlight, shaking the jar when you can.

How long does skullcap tincture keep?

Several years if it is sealed, stored in dark glass, and kept out of light and heat.

Is tincture stronger than skullcap tea?

It is more concentrated by volume and it extracts a somewhat different range of constituents, since alcohol takes up things water does not. It also keeps far longer.

Do you sell a skullcap tincture?

No. We grow, dry, and garble skullcap and sell the herb itself. Making the tincture is up to you.

Can you tincture fresh skullcap?

Yes, and many herbalists prefer it. The difficulty is access, since fresh skullcap has a short window and does not ship well. We offer it by pre-order at wholesale volume only.

Want to learn more? Check out our other guides on skullcap:

• Skullcap Tea: Benefits, Taste, and How to Brew It
• Mad Dog Skullcap: How This Herb Got Its Name
• Organic Skullcap — grown and garbled on our farm in Charlevoix

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