Alcohol for Herbalists and Apothecaries

There has never been a better time for individuals to become familiar to the recently forgotten ancient wisdom that was plant science and plant medicine.  Finally, individuals seeking to compound their own natural preventative remedies and herbal treatments for simple ailments like rashes, coughs, topical pain relief, and much more have the ability to seek safe ingredients from reputable suppliers. 

What is herbalism?

Herbalism is the practice of utilizing plants and plant extracts to craft remedies (medicines), treatments, or preventative supplements in the form of tinctures, tonics, salves, or soak.  The person who practices herbalism recipes is known as an herbalist. 

Throughout historical and medical literature, the term "Herbalism" is also referred to as "Phytotherapy", "Herbal Therapy", Herblore, or "Complementary and Alternative Medicine" (CAM)

How is ethyl alcohol used in herbalism?

Alcohol is used in herbalism as a food safe solvent, useful in extracting the effective components of a leafy or flowery raw ingredient. 

After the extraction occurs, the resulting tincture or solution can then be administered directly to the user.  Many herbalists store single ingredient tinctures as a method of preservation while simultaneously remaining available for deployment.  Layering (blending) different tinctures from various botanicals is an effective way to enhance and customize the expected benefits of the tincture.

Is all alcohol safe to use for herbalism recipes?

Unfortunately, no.  While a product labeled as "ethanol" will always be an alcohol, not all "alcohols" are food safe ethanol.  Furthermore, ethanol comes in 2 primary forms: denatured and non-denatured.  Only nondenatured ethanol is safe to use for herbalist tinctures and concentrations that will come in contact with humans, whether consumed directly or applied topically to the skin.  Culinary Solvent is pure nondenatured food grade ethanol, perfect for herbalism recipes. 

Read more about choosing the right food safe solvent:

• What is the difference between denatured and non-denatured ethanol?
• Is Culinary Solvent 200 proof food grade ethanol safe?
• Knowledge Base Blog - Answers to 150+ common food grade alcohol questions.

Where to buy alcohol for herbalism recipes?

Culinary Solvent is pure nondenatured food grade ethyl alcohol, distilled and shipped by The Northern Maine Distilling Company.  We're not another chemical distributor, we are the actual distillery that makes the product.

Buy direct from The Northern Maine Distilling Company using our secure online store complete selection of food grade alcohol for herbalists.

Why is Culinary Solvent the perfect alcohol for herbalism recipes?

Culinary Solvent contains only pure ethyl alcohol and zero additives.  Pure ethanol performs fast extractions and is know to be safe for human consumption.  Culinary Solvent's 100% ethanol allows the herbalist to dilute the strength of their tincture menstruum 

What is an apothecary?

 An apothecary is the place where an herbalist stores their creations of herbal based remedies and treatments usually in the form of tinctures and topical salves.