Herb-Infused Spirits & Herbal Cocktail Ideas
Herb-Infused distilled spirits show up in the finest, most delicious cocktails, but can be prohibitively expensive when you want to purchase a bottle for your home liquor cabinet. Fortunately, infused spirits are also some of the easiest herbal formulations to make! All you need is alcohol, herbs of choice, and jars and bottles for infusing and storing. In a matter of days, you can stock your bar with a wide variety of different flavors to take your cocktail creations to the next level throughout the year. Also, herb-infused spirits are a great way to use up herbs in your home apothecary before they get old. We’ve got three time-tested recipes to get you started—roasted cacao and vanilla bean brandy, smoked peppercorn vodka, and lavender gin. Yum, perfection in a bottle!
Tips for Labeling Your Herbal Formulations + FREE Label Template!
At Mountain Rose Herbs, we talk a lot about the importance of labeling homemade herbal remedies, essential oil blends, and the other handcrafted goods that we put in our apothecaries and gift to our loved ones. Proper labeling makes at-a-glance identification easy, ensures we have appropriate dosage information, and helps us keep track of the age of our formulations. On a purely practical level, it also makes it easier to avoid having a cupboard full of unused mystery bottles. We may think we will never forget what we put in that tincture, tea, or aromatherapy blend, or we may have the best intentions of making a label and writing helpful notes later. But then life happens, and we put it off. So there we are weeks or months after, realizing we can no longer remember the exact proportions or even which tincture is which. We have all been there and done that.
Sultry Perfume Recipe with Tonka Beans and Essential Oils
If you’ve had the opportunity to work with tonka beans (also called tonkin or tonquin beans), you know they have a heavenly aroma: a blend of vanilla-like essence with undertones of tobacco, pistachio, and musk. They are perfect for perfumery. The dilemma is how to get that delicious scent into a perfume. It turns out, a simple alcohol extraction is the key! Then add pure organic vetiver essential oil and a touch of sandalwood to this aromatic base, and you have a luscious, warm, sultry homemade perfume. Our three-ingredient tonka bean perfume blend is the perfect place to start exploring the wonders of this wondrous South American legume.
Hot Oil Treatment for Hair
When it comes to hair care, a routine of deep conditioning can make a huge difference in the health and appearance of your hair and scalp. Choosing the right oils is one of the key parts of this process, so I have broken down some of my favorite oils for hair care and shared a luscious hot oil treatment that I formulated for weekly use.
I called upon coconut, argan, neem, and castor oils for this blend. These are staples in my household, and I love the versatility of using them for hair care, skin care, and even pest control (as is the case with neem oil).
What Are Alkaloids in Plants & How to Extract Them
In our quest to unravel the tangled strings of phytochemistry, it’s important to understand that it takes time and practice to grasp the ins and outs. Taking it slowly, leaning into one constituent group at a time, can help the herbalist fully embrace their actions and needs. While studying the constituents in plants and the menstrua that extract and preserve them seems a bit too “science-y” for some, remember that is what the alchemists of yesterday were all about. Perhaps they didn’t have names such as polysaccharides, antioxidants, terpenes, and the like. However, they laid the groundwork for herbalists today with their attempts to classify and catalog the reactions of herbs in the bodies of their patients. It was in the 17th century that alchemy became chemistry as the emphasis leaned more toward experimentation and critical thinking and relied less on spirituality and mysticism. We, as experienced or budding herbalists, can explore both critical thinking and the mystical side of plants.
Chocolate Chip Mint Bath Truffles
The holidays are upon us, and this season we’re making luscious bath truffles! They’re less finicky than making bath bombs and they’re packed with rich, hydrating oils and butters so you can soak away the stress of the day and give your skin some extra love at the same time. We originally learned how to make these bath truffles from our friend Janice Cox, and we’re loving the myriad of ways we can customize her base recipe. We think this fresh, uplifting chocolate chip mint variation is perfect for winter 2022! Bonus: for the perfect gifts, you can make these balls of skin-loving goodness look like little chocolate chip-sprinkled ice cream scoops!
Digestion-Supporting Cordial Recipe for the Holidays
Although many people think of cordials—also known as liqueurs—as cocktail ingredients, they can also be potent and delicious digestifs. DIY cordials can be simple with just two or three ingredients or you can make them more complex by blending bitter and aromatic botanicals to delight your nose and palate. Either way, they are one of the easiest herbal recipes you can make: put herbs in a jar, add neutral spirits, shake it now and again, and wait. That’s it. And when you make a cordial with digestion-supporting herbs and spices, you turn this delicious little liqueur into a highly effective digestif. Best of all, we’ve got just enough time to make a cordial for the winter holidays! To get you started, here’s a festive midwinter cordial recipe that is the perfect finish to a hearty cold-weather meal when you’re relaxing in the company of your favorite people.
How to Make Bilberry & Hawthorn Berry Syrup with jim mcdonald
Adding herbs, berries, and other healthful ingredients to apple cider is a delicious way to bring botanical support to your diet, so we’re excited to share this easy recipe by our friend jim mcdonald!
Make this syrup with hawthorn berries and bilberries as jim does, or substitute blueberries or any other dark-colored berry that contains anthocyanin and antioxidants to help support the cardiovascular system. Who doesn’t love a functional herbal preparation that is also delicious?
Visit jim mcdonald’s website here: https://www.herbcraft.org/
Or find jim on social media @herb.craft
Herbal Extracts: Made with Care at Mountain Rose Herbs
Have you ever wondered how extracts are made here at Mountain Rose Herbs? Our dedicated extract production team carefully oversees the process from delivery of fresh plant material to bottling, packaging, and shipment to our customers. We use only the freshest cultivated and wildharvested plants, organic grain alcohol, and reverse osmosis water to create these handcrafted herbal extracts.
Mountain Rose Herbs’ Extract Production Supervisor, Keegan, shows us the ins and outs of our extract facility here in Eugene, OR, where we mill, tincture, and bottle all our herbal extracts.
From fresh plants and organic alcohol to quality control checks, our line of single and combination extracts is crafted with care and attention to detail.
