Forums HomeGrown Herbalist Student Forum Herbal Medicine Making Vodka/high strength alcohol costs and dilution

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    • #20704
      Sharon
      Student

        Just thought I would share some number crunching I did for alcohol/vodka.  IF you live in a state where you can have this shipped, I get Extractohol 195 proof organic in a gallon (they also have a 200 proof non organic).  So I got curious enough after finding that almost everything can be tinctured at 40% and ran some numbers.  Ready?

        The number of ounces from the gallon of 95% finished at 40% will be 304 ounces.  The gallon cost me $142.52 delivered, and a 750 ml vodka (ml converted to ounces for the calculations) at the local liquor store costs me $35.  So that works out to $1.40 per ounce for the vodka and $0.468 per ounce for the diluted Extractohol — plus I didn’t have to go to the liquor store!  Just thought this might help out with the bottom line for those of you who can get this delivered!

        If diluting a high-proof alcohol (95%) to 40%, the formula would look like:
        % Spirits needed = (40 ÷ 95) ⋇ 100 = 42.1% alcohol, and the remaining 57.9% would be water (DISTILLED water of course).  And if I am wrong on anything here, please feel free to correct me!  Hope this helps someone – I hate to crunch numbers and do research and the only one who benefits from that time spent is me!

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      • #20714
        Farmergirl
        Student

          Thank you for the time and effort. I have found a wide range of prices on vodka in my area. I recently found a store where I have purchased 1.75L of 40% alcohol for $12. I had to look around for the 95% Everclear, I paid around $35 for a 1.75L bottle of that.   I am making tinctures for family and friends so keeping the cost down really helps!  I didn’t think I could order online. What company do you use?

        • #20725
          Sharon
          Student
          Topic Author

            You found some good prices there FarmerGirl!  Maybe what I listed is higher because I won’t use an alcohol that is not organic because of all the GMO and glycophosphate issues that most booze has.  However, if you don’t mind non organic, then the cost savings could be greater.  For the Extractohol – (REDACTED By Auto-Moderator Robot). I’m just loopy enough to figure that if I’m using good clean (preferably organic) herbs and making strong medicine, I don’t want to intensify the toxins that are potentially in the solvent.  Just my two cents!  Hope your weekend is a great one 🙂

          • #21369
            Dr. Patrick Jones
            Homestead Instructor

              I’m about to the point where I’m going to start buying alcohol in 300 gallon vats and diluting it myself. We go to the liquor store twice a week and buy cases and cases of vodka.

              I was once at the liquor store filling the back of a van with cases of hooch and the young fellow helping me load it asked, “Are you gonna drink all this?“. I said “No, I’m pickling a moose. I have a big tank in the middle of my living room. Taxidermy is so boring compared to a  floating trophy”. :0)

              Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

              • #21476
                Sharon
                Student
                Topic Author

                  I’ll bet that was the most “interesting” answer that kid has ever had!  You have a great sense of humor – one of the reasons I signed up for the class – I really don’t enjoy listening to dry people!  Do you buy organic or non GMO hooch, or just the run of the mill cheapo?  I am so chemically sensitive with most things that I buy organic when I can.  I assume your herbs are organic though.  I originally was going to get more hooch from Extractohol initially, but we couldn’t visualize needing that much – now I can!  Who needs salves when you can use tinctures (except for an open wound!).  Though I can’t see tinctures helping with excessively dry skin LOL!

                  • #21773
                    Dr. Patrick Jones
                    Homestead Instructor

                      Nothing GMO can get past the distillation process so don’t worry about that. Organic is good though.

                      Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

                      • #21785
                        Sharon
                        Student
                        Topic Author

                          I’m confused on the GMO point you made.  I’ve heard on many fronts that most of the booze is made with GMO ingredients.  Not arguing with you, but I would like to understand this better as I do have a very inquisitive mind (it just doesn’t retain like it used to – the questions haven’t slowed down)!  Thanks 🙂

                          • #21793
                            Dr. Patrick Jones
                            Homestead Instructor

                              Much booze is made with GMO grains. The good news is that none of the weird genes can get past the process of distillation so it doesn’t matter.

                              A GMO is a genetically modified organism. In other words the DNA has been changed. DNA is a protein chain. When alcohol is made the sugar is separated from the rest of the plant. And the sugar molecules in a GMO plant are exactly the same as the sugar molecules of a regular plant. After the fermentation, the sugars become EtOH (ethanol) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). The ethanol is then evaporated and the steam cooled to collect the alcohol.  The alcohol contains absolutely none of the plant matter or genetic material of that plant matter. So, technically even if the sugar beets or corn or whatever was GMO, the alcohol produced by those GMO materials is non-GMO.

                              https://gmoanswers.com/ask/can-gmos-be-removed-distillation#:~:text=Fermentation%20converts%20the%20carbon%20source,no%20GMO's%20in%20ethanol%20distillate.

                              So why, do some brands of booze claim to be Non-GMO? It’s all marketing. Could be they’re using non-GMO crops could be that they aren’t. Doesn’t matter either way because the GMOs can’t get into the booze. So the reason they’re making claims on their labels is strictly a marketing gimmick to help people think that drinking lots of vodka can be a healthy experience. LOL

                              Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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