Easy Ginger Tincture Recipe Using Fresh or Dry Ginger

Last Updated on January 31, 2025

This simple ginger tincture recipe lets you have the medicinal benefits of ginger at the ready whenever you need them. Read on to find out how to make ginger tincture from fresh or dried ginger root, plus tips on how to use it, solvents to consider, and more.

Ginger is a wonderful herb to keep on hand, for common ailments from nausea viral infections. When you make a tincture with ginger, you have a potent herbal remedy ready whenever you need it.

WHAT IS GINGER TINCTURE?

If you haven’t made your own tincture before, it may sound a little intimidating. Don’t worry, if you can brew a cup of tea, you can make tincture. Tinctures are simply herbal extracts made by steeping herbs — in this case, ginger root — in alcohol or another solvent for 4 to 6 weeks. You can also make alcohol-free extracts using vinegar or glycerin.

Different solvents extract different compounds. Water, alcohol, vinegar, and glycerin each extract slightly different elements of the herb into the final product.

The Herbal Academy explains:

Using a solvent like alcohol, vinegar, or glycerin, you can extract a greater spectrum of the whole plant and preserve the medicine much longer than an infusion or a decoction. Alcohol is especially an excellent solvent that extracts a wide range of plant properties and allows for easy absorption of healing compounds into the bloodstream.

I’m among the home herbalists who use what’s known as the “folk method” of tincture making, using rough measurements to make tinctures with more variability. For more precision and consistency, use the “weight to volume” method instead.

Note that if you’re not being precise in your measurements, you’ll have more variability in exactly how much herb gets exctracted. This doesn’t mean your tincture is of a lower quality (that’s more about the quality of the herb you choose), just that you may need to use more or less of it to get the same effect.

WHY MAKE GINGER TINCTURE?

While ginger tea is a great kitchen remedy for fighting off colds, ginger tincture is far more potent, and also more portable. If you’re feeling ill, you might not want to guzzle large cups of tea, and a few concentrated drops of ginger tincture might be a lot easier to stomach.

Though you can buy tinctures ready made, they go for upwards of $15 an ounce. When you make them yourself, tinctures can cost around 50 cents per ounce using organic vodka and herbs. There’s something very satisfying about using remedies you’ve crafted yourself using top quality ingredients, especially when they’re so cheap and easy to make!

GINGER TINCTURE BENEFITS

Ginger tincture is helpful to have on hand for nausea, colds and flu, and many more common ailments.

Ginger is a close relative of turmeric, and like turmeric also has anti-inflammatory compounds that can help reduce pain. Research also suggests that ginger may have beneficial effects on brain health.

Ginger also has antiviral and antimicrobial compounds that make it a good choice when you feel like you’re fighting something off. It’s

A top herb for colds and flu, ginger is one of the valuable home remedies for coughs often recommended by herbalists. Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar names ginger as one of “our kitchen medicine miracles.”

If you’d like to get more knowledgeable about making herbal preparations like tinctures, explore the fantastic courses you can take online from Herbal Academy. Learn more about their offerings here or by clicking the banner below.

CAUTIONS WITH GINGER TINCTURE

Before taking any herbs, always check with a physician about contraindications for medical conditions and medication interactions. Read about side effects and interactions before consuming ginger root. Its blood thinning effects make it something to avoid if you’re on blood thinners or having surgery.

Note that ginger is considered very warming and drying, so it’s considered best for those who are cool and damp. Dried ginger is considered hotter than fresh.

FRESH OR DRIED GINGER?

As mentioned, dried ginger is considered hotter than fresh, so you may want to take that into account if you have a hotter or drier constitution. Opinions differ as to whether fresh or dried ginger is superior medicinally, so the choice is really up to you.

Most herbal books I’ve consulted recommend fresh ginger in 60% to 70% alcohol by volume.

If you do decide to use dried ginger, it’s best to get the best quality you can, and for that I recommend Mountain Rose Herbs. You can find chopped dried ginger or, or alternatively you could dehydrate fresh ginger root yourself. It’s generally not recommended to use powdered ginger, which has likely been stored too long and will have lost much of its potency.

Also important to consider is which solvent you intend to use. If you prefer to use organic alcohol, you may have trouble locating any that’s more than 80 proof. If that’s the case, it’s best to stick with dried ginger, and fresh ginger will have too high water content.

If you want to use fresh ginger root, be sure to get some high-proof alcohol to extract it in. I recommend getting organic ginger from a natural foods store. A good-sized chunk isn’t expensive and can be used to make many ounces of tincture.

SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR GINGER TINCTURE

• Fresh or dried ginger (I recommend purchasing organic fresh ginger or getting dried ginger pieces from Mountain Rose Herbs)
• Sterilized glass jar — you can use any jar you have on hand or get some wide mouth jars for canning. Plastic lids are also helpful so the alcohol doesn’t corrode the metal lid.
• High proof alcohol (minimum 80 proof, but higher is preferred). Vodka is commonly used for tincturing dried herbs, but you can also use brandy or another alcohol. Use grain alcohol mixed withe lower-proof alcohol if you’re using fresh ginger. Alternatively, you can use food-grade glycerin or vinegar with dried ginger.
• Dropper bottless (like these or these)
• Mesh sieve
• Small funnel
• Cheesecloth for straining the smallest pieces of plant material, which makes a longer-lasting finished product

I like to use organic vodka made by a local distiller. It’s more expensive than the big brands, but a bottle of vodka makes a lot of tinctures, plus I want to support organic practices and local producers. The increase in cost per bottle of tincture is pretty minimal since one bottle of vodka makes so many bottles of tinctures.

If you can’t get or don’t want to use organic vodka, though, I wouldn’t worry about it much, since you consume tinctures in such small amounts.

Most of the vodka I’ve seen is 80-proof, with one or two options of 90 or 100-proof non-organic vodka. Higher-proof alcohol is preferred for tincturing fresh herbs, so if you’re using fresh ginger root, which is very juicy, you’ll want to get something like grain alcohol to get to the higher proof you need.

–>Don’t use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), which should never be taken internally.

For more about choosing solvents, read this article. This overview on tincture making from Mountain Rose Herbs is helpful if you have more questions.

HOW TO MAKE GINGER TINCTURE

Ready to make your own tincture? Here’s how.

INSTRUCTIONS

If you’re using vodka or other solvent of 40 to 50% alcohol, you should use dried ginger pieces. If you want to use fresh ginger, get some higher-proof alcohol to mix to get the percentage to about 70 percent alcohol. (Using half 80 proof, half 190 proof grain alcohol would achieve this, according to Mountain Rose Herbs. One of the most commonly available grain alcohol is 151 proof, or 75.5% alcohol by volume.)

1. If using fresh ginger root, prepare it by scraping it with a spoon to remove skin.

2. Chop peeled root into small pieces to expose as much surface area as possible.

3. Place chopped fresh or dried ginger pieces in a clean, dry jar. Fill the jar approximately 3/4 full if using fresh root, and 1/4 full if using dried herb. Fill your jar to the top with your preferred solvent (alcohol, vinegar, or glycerin).

4. Put a lid on your jar and seal tightly. Shake gently, then let the ginger settle for about an hour. If necessary, add more liquid so ther ginger is completely covered, then reseal and shake it gently again.

5. Place the jar in a cabinet for 4 to 6 weeks, shaking gently every couple of days. Make sure the ginger is completely submerged in liquid. Write the finish date on a calendar or put a reminder on your phone so you remember to strain your tincture when it’s ready.

6. After 4 to 6 weeks, decant your tincture. Place cheesecloth in a sieve and strain the tincture into a bowl or measuring cup. The spout on the measuring cup makes pouring without spilling a lot easier.

7. Squeeze the cheesecloth to get as much of the liquid out as possible. Discard the ginger root.

8. Allow your tincture to settle for about 24 hours. If it looks like there’s still some tiny bits of ginger, you can strain it again through a coffee filter.

9. Fill tincture bottles using a small funnel, like these. Label bottles with the contents and the date.

HOW TO USE GINGER TINCTURE

Guidelines for using herbal preparations like tinctures can vary quite a bit. Sometimes you’ll see an entire dropperful of tincture in water recommended — even several times per day!– while many herbalists advise using just three drops placed under the tongue.

To tailor your use of ginger tincture to your own specific needs, consult a qualified herbalist.

Rico Cech advises taking tinctures between meals to maximize absorption. He also suggests that smaller people use less than larger people, and that acute conditions call for more frequent consumption of herbs than chronic conditions do.

FAQS

CAN YOU MAKE GINGER TINCTURE WITHOUT ALCOHOL?

Yes! You can make an extract using glycerin or vinegar, though the shelf life won’t be as long as one made with alcohol.

HOW LONG DOES GINGER TINCTURE LAST?

Alcohol-based tinctures stored in a cool, dark place keep for several years. Herbal vinegars keep for about 6 months in a cabinet, and longer in the refrigerator.

Here’s more on the shelf life of herbal preparations from the Herbal Academy.

DO I NEED TO PEEL FRESH GINGER ROOT FOR TINCTURE?

Though you don’t have to, many people like to peel ginger root to get off any residual dirt. Especially in the tight places where the root branches out, you can’t really clean it well. But if a little peel winds up in your tincture, don’t worry about it.

I HAVE A LOT OF ALCOHOL LEFT. WHAT CAN I USE IT FOR?

You can of course enjoy any leftover alcohol in cocktails, or try tincturing some the many other herbs you can harvest growing throughout the season, whether from your garden or growing wild. When I buy a large bottle of organic vodka I can make lots of pine needle tincture, stinging nettle tincture, violet tincture, as well as tinctures made with goldenrod, elderberry, elderflower, ground ivy, and California poppy. It’s great to have these on hand during the six months each year that nothing grows here.

I make smaller or larger quantities of each depending on how much I think I’ll use.

Want to expand your herbal knowledge? Explore some of the best herbal medicine books for your home library.

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Save this ginger tincture recipe for later!

Disclaimer: I’m a health enthusiast, not a medical professional. Content on this website is intended for informational purposes only and is not meant to provide personalized medical advice. I draw on numerous health sources, some of which are linked above. Please consult them for more information and a licensed professional for personalized recommendations.