Making A Tincture The strength or potency of your tinctures has nothing to do with using the strongest alcohol you decide to use. To make a successful tincture and avoid bacterial growth, you must match the solvent to the chemistry of the plant. Solvents are a substance, usually liquid, that can dissolve other substances. An example is sugar in water.  Although water is the most common solvent used, organic solvents such as, but not limited to alcohol and acetone which a