How to Make Cannabis Tincture (Green Dragon, Golden Dragon & FECO)

Cannabis tincture is the most precise, versatile, and fast-acting infusion you can make at home. This guide covers both methods in full, potency math, sublingual dosing, alcohol selection, the two-wash technique, FECO reduction, MCT oil conversion, troubleshooting, and a complete FAQ.

Tinctures are extractions made by soaking plant material in high-proof alcohol, which acts as a solvent, dissolving the active compounds from the plant into the liquid. For cannabis, that means dissolving cannabinoids and terpenes from decarboxylated flower, kief, or concentrate into food-grade grain alcohol to create a potent, precise, shelf-stable extract.

Tinctures are the infusion of choice for people who want precise control. You know exactly how much you're taking — measured in drops or milliliters rather than estimating a cookie size. The onset is faster than traditional edibles. The flavor impact is minimal. And a single batch, properly stored, lasts years.

This guide covers two tincture methods — Green Dragon and Golden Dragon — plus everything else: alcohol selection, potency calculation, the two-wash technique, how to use tincture sublingually, converting to an oil-based tincture, and for the first time on this site: a complete guide to reducing tincture into FECO.

Not yet familiar with decarboxylation? Start with our decarb guide — it's the required first step before any tincture method.

What you'll need

Choosing your alcohol

Your alcohol is the solvent — it's doing the work of extracting cannabinoids from the plant material. The proof matters significantly.

What you want: Food-grade grain (ethyl) alcohol, as high proof as possible.

190 proof is sold in most US states but not all — state laws vary. If you can't find it locally, check neighboring states or specialty liquor retailers. 151 proof is a solid substitute.

⚠️ Never use isopropyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, or rubbing alcohol. These are toxic and not safe for consumption under any circumstances.

Cannabis-to-alcohol ratio

The ratio you use determines potency. More cannabis per unit of alcohol = stronger tincture, more cannabinoids per ml.

Starting ratio: 1g cannabis per 1 fl oz (30ml) alcohol

This is a flexible baseline that produces a moderately potent tincture, easy to filter and work with. From there:

For a standard 1 oz batch of cannabis in 1 cup (8 fl oz) of alcohol: that's roughly 3.5g per oz — a fairly potent tincture. Adjust up or down based on your material's THC% and intended use.

Potency math: estimating THC per ml

You don't need a lab to get a reasonable potency estimate. Here's the formula:

Step 1: Cannabis weight in grams × 1000 = mg in a gram Step 2: mg × THC% as a decimal = total available THC in mg Step 3: Assume ~60–70% extraction efficiency (typical for home tinctures) Step 4: Divide by total volume of finished tincture in ml

Example:

• 14g cannabis at 20% THC
• 14 × 1000 × 0.20 = 2,800mg available THC
• × 0.65 efficiency = ~1,820mg extracted THC
• Finished tincture volume: ~200ml (after some alcohol evaporates in straining)
• 1,820 ÷ 200 = ~9mg THC per ml

A 1ml dropper = approximately 9mg THC. That's a useful starting dose for most people. A half dropper = ~4.5mg, well within beginner range.

Use our Potency Calculator for a more guided version of this math.

Green Dragon vs. Golden Dragon

Both methods produce excellent tincture. The difference is the tradeoff between potency and flavor.

Neither method is objectively better — they serve different purposes. Many experienced makers keep both: Golden Dragon for sublingual drops or cannabis sugar, Green Dragon for cooking.

The two-wash technique (get both from the same material)

This is the technique most guides don't mention. Rather than choosing one method, you can run both sequentially on the same flower:

Wash 1 — Golden Dragon: Run a quick cold wash first. This extracts mostly trichomes and cannabinoids with minimal chlorophyll. Strain and set aside — this is your clean, tasty, sublingual-quality tincture.

Wash 2 — Green Dragon: Take the same plant material and soak it again at room temperature for 24 hours. This second wash pulls remaining cannabinoids along with more chlorophyll and plant matter. It's greener and earthier — ideal for cooking where flavor will be masked.

One batch of flower, two useful tinctures. Efficient and smart.

Method 1: Green Dragon

Time: 10 minutes active + 24 hours soak Smell: Moderate during straining Result: Potent, full-spectrum, earthy flavor

Steps

1. Ensure your cannabis is decarboxylated. See our decarb guide.
2. Add your decarbed cannabis to a clean, dry mason jar.
3. Pour enough alcohol to fully cover the plant material — don't flood it. Use your target ratio.
4. Seal the lid. Give the jar a gentle shake to combine.
5. Store in a cool, dark place for 24 hours minimum, shaking gently once or twice. You can extend the soak up to 3 days for more potency — though you'll also pull more chlorophyll, increasing the grassy flavor. Your call.
6. Strain through your bubble bag or cheesecloth into a clean container. Don't press or squeeze the plant material — let gravity do the work.
7. For a cleaner result, filter a second time through an unbleached coffee filter. This removes fine particulate that makes it through the first straining.
8. Transfer to amber glass dropper bottles for storage.

Method 2: Golden Dragon (QWET)

Time: 10 minutes active + 24 hours freeze prep Smell: Very low Result: Cleaner flavor, golden color, slightly lower potency

The logic behind Golden Dragon: freezing both the cannabis and alcohol before extraction limits how much chlorophyll and waxes the cold alcohol pulls from the plant material. Chlorophyll is what gives Green Dragon its strong taste — limiting it produces a dramatically cleaner result.

Steps

1. Ensure your cannabis is decarboxylated.
2. Add your decarbed cannabis to a sealed mason jar. Place in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
3. Place your bottle of Everclear in the freezer at the same time.
4. When ready, remove both from the freezer. Move quickly — you want everything to stay cold.
5. Pour the frozen alcohol over the frozen cannabis. Use just enough to cover the plant material.
6. Seal the jar immediately. Give it a gentle shake and return to the freezer for 5 minutes.
7. Remove, shake gently again, return to freezer for another 5 minutes.
8. Remove and strain immediately through your bubble bag or cheesecloth. Work fast — the longer it sits at room temperature, the more chlorophyll it extracts.
9. Optional: pass through an unbleached coffee filter for maximum clarity.
10. Transfer to amber glass dropper bottles.

Master Wu's method (heat method)

A third, faster option: the heat method, also known as Master Wu's Green Dragon. Instead of a long cold soak, you apply gentle heat in a water bath for 20 minutes.

1. Combine decarbed cannabis and alcohol in a sealed mason jar.
2. Place the sealed jar in a pot of water over low heat.
3. Maintain the water temperature at 160–170°F (71–77°C) — use a thermometer. Do not exceed 170°F.
4. Hold for 20 minutes.
5. Remove, cool slightly, and strain.

⚠️ Critical safety note: Alcohol is highly flammable. Never use an open gas flame with this method. Use electric heat only, ensure excellent ventilation, and keep the jar sealed throughout. This method produces more fumes than cold methods.

The heat method produces a potent, full-spectrum result faster than the standard Green Dragon, but with more smell and fire risk. Most home users are better served by the standard cold methods.

Straining your tincture

How well you strain affects taste, clarity, and shelf life. Leftover plant matter makes tincture taste worse and shortens how long it keeps.

Straining options, ranked:

1. 25-micron bubble bag↗ — cleanest result, absorbs the least tincture. Our strong preference.
2. Fine-mesh strainer↗ + cheesecloth↗ — effective, good for a first pass
3. Unbleached coffee filter↗ — excellent for a second-pass fine filter, slow but produces crystal-clear results
4. Double-filter: First pass through bubble bag or cheesecloth, second pass through coffee filter — produces the clearest, cleanest tincture possible

Do not squeeze or press the plant material. Pressing forces chlorophyll and fine particulate through, making the tincture darker and more bitter.

How to use tincture sublingually

Sublingual use — holding tincture under the tongue — is the fastest-acting consumption method for edibles. Cannabinoids absorb directly through the mucosal tissue into the bloodstream, bypassing the liver and first-pass metabolism.

Onset: 15–45 minutes (vs. 30 minutes–2 hours for digested edibles) Duration: 2–4 hours (shorter than digested edibles) Effect profile: More similar to smoking than traditional edibles — cleaner head effect, less body-heavy

How to dose sublingually

1. Start with 0.5ml (half a dropper) if you're new to tincture or a new batch. That's roughly 4–9mg depending on potency — well within beginner range.
2. Using your dropper, place the tincture under your tongue, not on top of it.
3. Hold for 60–90 seconds without swallowing. The longer you hold, the more absorbs sublingually. After 90 seconds, swallow the rest — it will be digested normally.
4. Wait 45 minutes before assessing and considering more.

Tips:

• Everclear-based tincture has a strong alcohol burn. If it's uncomfortable, take a small sip of water before dosing to coat the mucous membranes, or consider converting to an MCT oil tincture (see below).
• Golden Dragon tincture is noticeably more pleasant for sublingual use than Green Dragon due to the cleaner flavor.
• Some people find that eating a small amount of fat beforehand improves sublingual absorption.

Converting to an oil-based tincture (MCT conversion)

If the alcohol burn of sublingual dosing is uncomfortable, or if you want a tincture format that's easier to cook with, you can convert your alcohol tincture to an MCT oil base.

MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil is flavorless, odorless, and an excellent carrier for cannabinoids. The conversion process removes the alcohol and replaces it with oil.

What you'll need: MCT oil, double boiler or slow cooker on lowest setting, thermometer

Process

1. Pour your finished tincture into a double boiler or heat-safe glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
2. Apply very gentle heat — target 165°F (74°C) in the tincture, not much higher.
3. Allow the alcohol to evaporate slowly, stirring occasionally. This takes 30–90 minutes depending on volume.

⚠️ Use only electric heat. Keep ventilation excellent — alcohol vapor is flammable. Never use an open flame.

4. As the alcohol evaporates, the tincture will reduce significantly in volume. The remaining liquid will become darker and more viscous.
5. When the volume has reduced by roughly 70–80%, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
6. Add MCT oil to your desired final volume — typically a 1:1 ratio with your estimated remaining extract for a moderate potency, or more oil for a milder tincture.
7. Stir well to fully incorporate. Transfer to dropper bottles.

The finished product is an oil-based tincture — no alcohol burn, longer shelf life, easier to cook with. Store in a cool, dark place.

Making FECO (Full Extract Cannabis Oil)

FECO — Full Extract Cannabis Oil — is what you get when you evaporate all the alcohol from your tincture, leaving behind a thick, dark, extraordinarily potent concentrate. This is the guide that's been on the to-do list since 2021. Here it is.

FECO is one of the most potent cannabis products you can make at home. A tiny amount — sometimes less than a grain of rice — can represent a significant dose. It's used medically, in capsules, as a cooking ingredient for very potent edibles, and as the base for precise oil-based tinctures.

What you'll need

• Your finished cannabis tincture (Green or Golden Dragon — both work)
• Double boiler or heat-safe glass bowl over simmering water
• Thermometer
• Glass syringe or small glass jar for storage
• Electric heat source only — never gas or open flame

Process

1. Start with your finished, strained tincture. The more potent your starting tincture, the more potent your FECO.
2. Pour into your double boiler setup. Keep the heat gentle — target 160–165°F (71–74°C) in the tincture. Too hot and you'll degrade cannabinoids.
3. Allow the alcohol to evaporate slowly. Stir occasionally. This takes time — anywhere from 1–4 hours depending on volume. Do not rush it with higher heat.
4. The tincture will begin to visibly reduce in volume and turn darker and more viscous as the alcohol leaves.
5. As it approaches fully reduced, bubbling will slow and the surface will look thick and oily rather than fluid.
6. The finished FECO is a dark, sticky, tar-like concentrate. If you run a spoon through it, it should slowly flow back together.
7. While still warm and fluid, transfer to a glass syringe or small glass jar for storage.

⚠️ Safety throughout this process:

• Electric heat only — no gas flames, no candles, no sources of ignition nearby
• Excellent ventilation — windows open, range hood running, fan if possible
• Keep your face away from the evaporating surface — you're breathing out alcohol vapors
• Have a fire extinguisher accessible in your kitchen

Using FECO

As a concentrate: A grain-of-rice-sized amount is a starting dose. Very strong — start small.

In capsules: Dissolve a precise amount in MCT oil, draw into a syringe, fill capsules. This is how most medical users consume it.

In cooking: FECO dissolves readily into any fat. A small amount stirred into a full batch of cannabutter produces extremely potent infused butter — useful for people who need high-dose edibles.

As an oil tincture base: Dissolve your FECO in a measured volume of MCT oil for a precisely dosed, alcohol-free tincture. Because you know the total amount of extracted cannabinoids in your FECO (via the potency math above), you can control the final concentration exactly — something you can't do as precisely with a standard tincture.

FECO storage

Store in a glass syringe or airtight glass container. FECO is extremely shelf-stable — kept away from heat and light, it lasts years. Refrigerate or freeze for long-term storage.

Storing tincture

Amber glass dropper bottles protect from light degradation. Keep away from heat. Label every bottle with date, strain, method, and estimated potency per ml.

What to do with your tincture

• Use sublingually for the fastest onset — see the dosing guide above
• Add to beverages — coffee, tea, lemonade, cocktails
• Make cannabis-infused sugar — the most versatile next step
• Reduce to FECO for maximum potency concentrate
• Convert to MCT tincture for alcohol-free sublingual use
• Add to recipes — anywhere you'd use a liquid, tincture works

Troubleshooting

Weak tincture / not feeling much effect Most likely causes: incomplete decarb (most common), soak time too short, or alcohol proof too low. Verify your decarb process first. If using 151 vs 190 proof, results will be somewhat lower.

Very strong cannabis flavor / dark green color You either soaked too long, the soak temperature was too warm, or you squeezed the plant material when straining. Switch to Golden Dragon for cleaner results, or strain more carefully without pressing.

Tincture looks cloudy Normal for freshly strained tincture — waxes and fine plant matter remain in suspension. Run a second pass through a coffee filter for clarity, or simply let it sit sealed in the refrigerator for a few days and the sediment will settle.

Alcohol burn is too uncomfortable for sublingual use Convert to an MCT oil tincture using the process above. Oil-based tinctures have zero burn and are just as effective sublingually.

Tincture evaporated too much during straining Happens with coffee filters, which absorb tincture. Switch to a bubble bag, which absorbs far less. Also work quickly when straining.

Frequently asked questions