Back in November as part of my Botanical Medicine Movement study, I made a Willow Tincture. I foraged the willow on one of the class walks we did. When I got home I went straight to processing it.
I started by removing all the leaves from the branches. It was then time to "crush" it to give the alcohol more surface area to contact. To do this I used a small hammer on my back deck. Once I had all the branches pounded down, I cut them into little pieces in a jar. At this point, it was time to take it inside to weigh it and add the alcohol.
On the scale, I tare out a clean jar. Next, I added the willow pieces which weighed 42 grams. After that, I tare the scale and add the alcohol, which comes to 184 grams; thus, I have a 1:4 tincture.
I have used this tincture a few times and can't believe it has taken me this long to have it on hand. I keep white willow bark in my herb cabinet but I have never thought having a tincture of it on hand would be so helpful. Then again, I have never appreciated tinctures much in the past since I always found them to be alcohol-tasting for me. But I'm finding different ways of using them that are making them invaluable.
The video below shows the process I went through to make this Willow Tincture.