The Home Medicine Cabinet.

[NBK2000]

How many of you stock miniature spirits with your med kit(s)? If so, why? If not, why?

[pseudonym]

Nope.

1. I don't drink.

2. I don't want to encourage people to think I have a supply for them. Medicinal or otherwise.

[Adjee]

How many of you stock miniature spirits with your med kit(s)? If so, why? If not, why?

We have a good store of home made Rakija which we use in cooking and food preservation along side its "Medicinal" uses some of which are:

Disinfection - cleaning wounds, cleaning/washing hands and helping with skin infections.
Mouth problems - gargling to soothe pain from toothache, ulcers, sore throats etc.
Drink - help with respiratory issues and blood circulation. Also use with lemon, honey and ginger to relieve cold symptoms etc. Many older Bulgarians still have a small glass early every morning for these reasons.
Muscle aches - make a paste from Rakija and hot peppers and apply to sore/tired muscles.
Tinctures - used as a base for making tinctures.

Most its uses and recipes have been handed down through families over generations.

[GillyBee]

I keep booze seperately but do use to make tinctures and extracts. The chilli extract is so strong it gets accused of being chemical warfare, is not used medicinally at the moment but could be. Disinfection is my main other use but at present I have alcohol wipes/gels for that.

[Arzosah]

I keep booze seperately but do use to make tinctures and extracts. The chilli extract is so strong it gets accused of being chemical warfare, is not used medicinally at the moment but could be. Disinfection is my main other use but at present I have alcohol wipes/gels for that.

GillyBee, can I ask if you currently buy the alcohol from supermarkets, shops, websites, etc? And what do you buy - I'd willingly build a stock for the purposes you describe, but I don't honestly know what would be useful to convert into medicinal use?

[GillyBee]

I look for plain vodka with at least 40% alcohol content. A lot are less and are poor for extraction and for preservation. There is also the Wray & Nephew overproof white rum at 63% for anything needing a higher alcohol content. I have not used this myself but plan to try as my son drinks it anyway & I will steal some to test. I did try getting some 99% ethanol online from a specialist supplier who supposedly supplied the herbalism trade but the extracts tasted so bad I did not want to use it and I notice that the supplier is now closing down.

[NBK2000]

I have made my own high 90%+ alcohol a few times. I used an air still. You brew a mash using turbo yeasts, this ferments out to around 20% abv, then you run it through the air still and it comes out around 40-60% abv. You run it again and you’re in the 80-90% abv range.

You can run through 25L of “mash” in an afternoon.

The air still can be bought legally from a host of home brewing stores and online. I think it was around £215 and included everything bar the sugar (dextrose) to get going straight away.

It can also be used to make distilled water and ethanol.

[Arzosah]

I look for plain vodka with at least 40% alcohol content. A lot are less and are poor for extraction and for preservation. There is also the Wray & Nephew overproof white rum at 63% for anything needing a higher alcohol content. I have not used this myself but plan to try as my son drinks it anyway & I will steal some to test. I did try getting some 99% ethanol online from a specialist supplier who supposedly supplied the herbalism trade but the extracts tasted so bad I did not want to use it and I notice that the supplier is now closing down.

Thanks for this - when I'm stocking up, I focus on sewing/knitting and health, so getting some 40% alcohol would be good.
Asda - triple distilled, 1 litre, £17.73.
Sainsbo - same, £17.75
Aldi - same, £16.29
However, they all say 37.5% alcohol. I suppose that's still a base for a tincture etc, you'll just end up with a bit less. I'll keep my eye open, though, and if I see a good price, or a high%, I'll fork out. Luckily, I'm not interested in drinking the stuff!

[Arzosah]

I have made my own high 90%+ alcohol a few times. I used an air still. You brew a mash using turbo yeasts, this ferments out to around 20% abv, then you run it through the air still and it comes out around 40-60% abv. You run it again and you’re in the 80-90% abv range.

You can run through 25L of “mash” in an afternoon.

The air still can be bought legally from a host of home brewing stores and online. I think it was around £215 and included everything bar the sugar (dextrose) to get going straight away.

It can also be used to make distilled water and ethanol.

Oh my. Every week, the world gets more and more full of things I should buy

[GillyBee]

I have made my own high 90%+ alcohol a few times. I used an air still. You brew a mash using turbo yeasts, this ferments out to around 20% abv, then you run it through the air still and it comes out around 40-60% abv. You run it again and you’re in the 80-90% abv range.

You can run through 25L of “mash” in an afternoon.

The air still can be bought legally from a host of home brewing stores and online. I think it was around £215 and included everything bar the sugar (dextrose) to get going straight away.

It can also be used to make distilled water and ethanol.

I assume you are taking steps to prevent any methanol coming over in your brew?