Dragon Lite.....another Tincture Thread

 
Are you keeping it in the freezer? Your plant waxes and oils will settle out if you do and looks a little like spiderwebs. Those can be filtered out for a cleaner solution for transfers. If you keep it at room temperature there's still a chance some of the trichome husks got through. Stick it back in the freezer for a couple of days to let the waxes and oils separate (winterize) then filter it all out. Did you take it down to 500ml like you planned?

 

 
A transfer is short for solvent transfer. That's what it's called when you mix another medium like glycerin/honey/oil with the alcohol and then reduce out the alcohol. It leaves the thc behind in the new medium, the "transfer". It's just the term given to what you plan to do with the GD and glycerin. So if it's been in the freezer, the residue is the plant waxes and oils. Just run your GD through another paper filter while it's cold and then you've just "winterized" your GD. That will give you a cleaner product.   

 

Hey, Matero, good to hear from you again. I was afraid that I had run you off or something. It's good to see that's not the case and thank you much for the kind words.

I lived in Florida for over a decade and didn't know about the 190 prohibition, but I never knew about this stuff when I was there. The process for a concentrated 151 tincture is exactly the same as the kief/hash process, except using 151 instead of 190, whether it's rum, grain or vodka. The issue with 151 is that it won't reduce past a certain point without separating into an oil layer and a bigger water/sugar volume. With the reefer process, the potency is determined by the reduction and that process is inhibited by using 151 which is 25% water. That water can throw a monkey wrench into that process where reduction is key.

With the kief/hash process, you don't have to reduce since you're starting off with a concentrate in an already small amount of ethanol. I have heard from a reputable source lately that an ounce of 190 proof ethanol can bond the THC of up to 20oz of buds. I don't know how accurate that is but from all of my experience I do know that it holds a lot. So 151 is 20% less which means that it is going to still hold a lot. This means that if you use 2 grams of kief/hash in 151, you're alcohol content will actually be more potent than the 190 because of the lower alcohol volume, the equivalent of 1.5fl oz of 190, but because of the additional 20% water content, the dosage of the 151 and the 190 should be fairly equal.

I tell you what I'll do. I've been intending to do a 151 tutorial for a while but never really was motivated because of the reduction issue but I just happen to have a couple of grams of dry ice hash laying around. I have to go out to the store for some things and I'll get a small bottle of 151 of some sort and do a pictorial to test it out. I know the 190 works, so let me experience this and document. I should have an update on it maybe by tomorrow night. All my knowledge about the 151 process is gleaned from other parties, so I'll be more comfortable putting my approval on it first.

Btw, I've never tried the citric acid extraction but I've never heard anything really good about it where potency is concerned. I wouldn't recommend using any kind of extracts to boost the alcohol content.

 

151 Dragon Tincture

As mentioned above, I'm starting a pictorial for a concentrated 151 Dragon Tincture using 151 rum and 1.2g of dry ice hash. I thought I had 2 grams but I was wrong, but this is sufficient.


I've put these into the freezer for 24 hours and then tomorrow around the same time I will combine them and shake. I will only be using 1 fluid ounce of 151 and that should give me about a 4g/oz ratio (I got 7g from an ounce of trim, making it 4g reefer per g of kief, more or less).

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I can't really take credit for the Martini Shaker Idea, but it's not well documented so I thought I'd fill the gap. I'm not a big hash user but there are times when a little comes in handy and you can just make a little, no expensive bubble bags. I've been at least interested in finding a good way to make a concentrated 151 tincture since others started to report the reduction issues with it. Now I know why a couple of people's honey and oil transfers didn't work well, too, and while that is still not going to be an option for a 151 Dragon, there should be a way to make a concentrated tincture without having to jump through a lot of hoops. Using kief/hash keeps your alcohol volume low because you're not having to use so much to cover the reefer, thus allowing for the higher concentration.
 
If this was work, I doubt if I could do it, but it's so easy that I hardly have to do anything. Besides, I'm bored sh**less and this gives me something to do to occupy the time. One item of concern right now is that the nerve inflammation is rearing it's ugly head again and I may not be able to update as quickly as I usually would, but I have been known to type one handed to meet a deadline.   

 

 
I believe when I told you that about the glycerin transfer, you had already had the experience with your bho glob in the glycerin. You were going to make the Dragon and do a transfer but that would have given you the same result with your glycerin globs, so I wouldn't have gone through that additional work of turning the bho or whole reefer into the Dragon. But you had already made it so we moved on to the "now that you have it" phase.   
 
When I first started to make the Dragon, I had no clue about "winterization". I had left my finished GD in the freezer for a few days just to store it and I started to see this residue, waxy spiderwebs, forming so I filtered it out. It wasn't until quite a while later that I found out it was "winterizing" and was common for concentrates and GD is a concentrate, so I've been winterizing mine for quite a while. It can make a big difference in the taste when concentrated and it only takes another quick run through a filter. For a few drops in your pen vape it may not be necessary to winterize but it won't hurt, either, and it's easy.   

 

151 Dragon Tincture

1) After 24 hours separately in the freezer, I added 1 fluid ounce of 151 rum.

2) After tightening the cap of the jar, I shook the jar vigorously for about 15 minutes and let it settle.

3) It may be ready now but it will be better later, so I'm placing it back in the freezer for a few more hours, shaking occasionally. I'll test it tonight before bed and then again in the morning when I'm fresh. I intend to use 8 drops to test my theory. That is the standard dosage of my 190 Dragons.

Update


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For lab comparisons and further commentary:
Dragon Lite.....another Tincture Thread
Dragon Lite.....another Tincture Thread

 

151 Tincture....First impression......Excellent! More tomorrow.

 

151 Dragon Tincture....Update

My left arm is fairly useless today so this update will be short and succinct. Maybe later i can expound a little more.

Last night before bed I put 8 drops in some tea and a couple of drops under my tongue to see how much it would burn and how it tasted. There was very little burn and guess what? It tasted like rum, no weed taste at all. And I was able to feel those two drops sublingually. Because it was late, I was already loaded up with my slumber dosages but it definitely made it's presence known and I slept better than usual.

This morning when I took it out of the freezer it was very dark, much darker than the picture after the initial shake. I'll have a picture of it later after I filter it. I need to wait until I can use my arm before I try that so that I don't spill it.

So I put 8 drops in my coffee this morning for wake and bake and didn't have to wait long for the results. Ten minutes later I was starting to feel it and within 20 minutes I had a good buzz going. This was my titration point, the lowest dosage that can provide significant effects. I may be able to go down to 6 but I feel that 8 was the tipping point. I'm not saying that 8 is a recreational dose. It's more of a medical dose, for those who want some relief for what ails them but needs to be fairly functional.

As I found out a couple of hours ago, going up in dosage is quite the experience. Because my pain was so severe, I decided to do more. This time I wanted to see how the sublingual burn would be with a larger dose and I wanted to explore the upper titration point so I used about 15 drops. I put it under my tongue, expecting to need a drink quickly, but was pleasantly suprised. It burned a little but was a sweeter rum taste and I was able to keep it there for several minutes. Well, it knocked me for a loop and was a little too heavy for a recreational use unless you want to nod out. I really had to fight off the nod, but then it has just stuck around, helping my pain and definitely my head. I think tomorrow I'll go for 10 drops and I think that will do nicely.

I do not recommend making large amounts of this but an ounce or two using some kief/hash will last you quite a while and it's so easy to make that you don't need to ever run out. Substitute 151 Everclear or vodka for a change of taste.

 

151 Dragon Tincture....Final Update and Thoughts

I can now say that this experience has been a success. I've been pleased with the results the previous 2 days but it just wasn't quite what I was looking for. Oh, don't get me wrong. Both the 8 and 10 drop doses were good and lasted quite a while and when teamed with a bowl later produced a mind numbing experience. I made some cookie brownies last night and got my measurements, normally an automatic action, completely screwed up by mixing up ounces and tablespoons. Recipe needed tablespoons and I used ounce instead (of infused butter and oil) so I had to improvise. Fortunately they still came out well, but the point is how stoned I was doing it.

But this is a thread geared towards the recreational user who wants the big punch and damn the torpedoes and I hadn't gotten that result yet from this particular product. I knew it was there, hidden within that 151 rum but I just had to coax it out. Well, I caught it, one hell of a buzz, that is. 12 drops was the magic number. This was the first time that it just sat me back in the chair and said, "stay there" and then proceeded to roll those waves of euphoria over my brain. Pain melted but who cared by that time. It's now 4 hours later, I had a smoke about an hour or so ago and got triple effects from it and I am still on a roll. This is the point I was seeking for this tutorial.

I'm going to show you a couple of tips I mentioned earlier for filtering your Dragon without losing half of it to the filter absorption. If you have only an ounce of tincture you can't afford to waste it.

In the opening photo you see that I am using a small wire mesh strainer and a coffee filter that I cut down to fit the strainer so that there'd be no excess filter to absorb the solution. You'll also notice a shot glass with a small amount of liquor in it.

A) Dip the paper coffee filter into the shot glass of 151 until it is completely soaked, squeeze out the excess and place it in your strainer.

Pour your 151 Dragon through the filter and let it drain. You can see how the wet filter has prevented the tincture to be absorbed beyond the fill line like you'd ordinarily see with a dry filter and the larger that filter, the more of your precious solution is going to be lost. With a dry filter you would have seen the dark green of the Dragon just roll up the filter. Here there is very little.

This is a very important point for small quantities. The small filter and pre-wetting are key to your overall Dragon experience because the added efficiency of this process is one of it's draws, but if you lose half of it, what good is that? Here's a couple of more pictures from after the filter, one wet, the other dry, and how white the filters still are except where the solution drained, and even that is lighter than usual. I have photos of dry filter use and the absorption difference but they are of larger batches and I don't want to confuse the issue. The dried kief in the second picture looks just like it did when I put it in the alcohol but is actually quite depleted after soaking in the alcohol for 3 days in the freezer, but I mixed it into my cookie brownie mix anyway.


And here we have the final product. You can see how much it darkened since the initial shake. You would be able to use it and feel it then but I feel that the extra time, at least the extra few hours, made some difference. So 12 drops for a great recreational buzz is not too damn bad, at least in my book. Use 2g of kief/hash and it gets better. I would use a little more 151 for more than 2g for coverage. This is definitely good stuff and I'm going to keep it around. The second picture is looking from the bottom. In regular light it's a beautiful yellow gold. To paraphrase the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, this "gold" will get you through times of no real gold (money) better that real gold will get you through times with none of this "gold". Okay I know it's lame but remember, I'm stoned so i can be excused. .

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Enjoy!

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Thank you much for the kind words, Captain.. I'm glad that I can be of service.

 

Yeah, it looks like the final edit removed it. That happens now a lot I've noticed. Oh, well. I do have a glycerin tutorial. It's in my other main tincture thread linked in my signature. There are 2 projects, one for sublingual tincture and the second one for ecig usage. They are made using a solvent transfer from the GD, or kief/hash. I had an index for the thread and links to all the different tutorials but all the links have gone haywire and it will take me a while to fix it. If you're interested, post your questions in that thread and I'll set you up.

I was checking out that Magical Butter machine the other day. I checked out the website. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I don't have any trouble making butter and do a better job than the machine but I bet it sells well, especially in the dorms.