Alcohol Extract

• Verify the Root Use Soul Ascentials Burdock Root (Arctium lappa), or properly identified dried burdock root from a trusted source. Avoid unlabeled bulk, sometimes cut with more dangerous roots.Not the leaf, and not another Arctium. Good dried root is pale buff to gray-brown, cut into firm pieces that snap rather than bend, and smells clean, earthy and faintly sweet — never musty, sour, or damp.
• Measure the Root Weigh 3½ oz (100 g) of dried, cut burdock root on a kitchen scale. This is the 1:5 ratio — one part root by weight to five parts spirit by volume.Weigh it, never guess — the 1:5 ratio is what makes every batch the same predictable strength. Break up any large chunks as you go, so the spirit reaches every cut surface rather than just the outside of a knuckle of root.
• Pack the Jar Add the weighed root to a clean, dry 1-quart (1 L) glass jar and shake it level.Dense root packs low and heavy, sitting in the bottom rather than filling the jar the way a leaf would — and that headspace is exactly what lets you shake it properly.
• Cover with the Spirit Pour in 2 cups (500 ml) of 80-100 proof vodka (40-50% alcohol), enough to stand above the root, and stir once. Close the lid and label with the herb, the 1:5 ratio and today’s date.The pieces sink and stay down — burdock is dense and will not float the way leaf does, so it needs nothing to weight it under.
• Top Up as the Root Drinks the Spirit Check the level daily for the first two or three days, topping up with the same spirit until it holds steady. Exposed root left above the line can mold.Burdock swells and drinks the spirit down into itself, so the drop is far bigger than a leaf or flower ever gives. Watch for any piece sitting proud of the surface, dry above the line, through the first week.
• Steep in the Dark (Macerate) Stand the jar in a cool, dark cupboard at about 68-75°F (20-24°C) for 4-6 weeks, shaking it once a day.That long quiet soak is what herbalists call macerating. The spirit turns from clear to a deep amber-brown and takes on burdock’s earthy, faintly sweet smell. When the color stops deepening from one week to the next, it has taken what it is going to take.
• Press and Strain Pour the contents through muslin set in a sieve into a clean glass container, then gather the cloth up and squeeze hard. Discard the wrung-out root.Dense root holds spirit stubbornly, and a firm press is the difference between a full yield and half of one — the marc, the spent root, keeps the rest, so wring it until nothing more runs. Expect about 1½ cups (360 ml) of deep amber liquid.
• Bottle and Label Funnel into amber glass dropper bottles; label with made-on and discard dates (about three years). Store cool and dark.Label every bottle with the herb and the 1:5 ratio too, so the cautions and strength travel with it. A well-made 40-50% tincture is self-preserving and needs no refrigeration; the dark cupboard only protects color and aroma from light.