Making a good Dit Da Jow that can be used in a short period of time requires the right alcohol, Vodka seems to be the best, 80 proof and 40% alcohol is what you need to buy, if 37% is all that is available that will work also, generally two 1.75 liter bottles is enough to start with. Using just grain alcohol or Everclear is not recommended due to fast evaporation. When applied on the skin, grain alcohol based Dit Da Jow does not have a chance to be absorbed in the skin. If you wish to use Everclear or grain alcohol it must be diluted down with distilled water. Depending on the kit purchased this can be anywhere from 37% to 57%.

Having the right size jar is important, first it MUST be glass and it should have an airtight lid or cap. Second it should be at least a gallon size, if possible a 5 liter jar would allow you to produce more liniment. You will notice the herbs take up a fair amount of room in a gallon size jar which does not allow as much alcohol to be used. There is a trade off, using less alcohol makes a more concentrated liniment, using more alcohol produces more liniment so you do not lose either way.

When you receive your liniment kit it is triple wrapped in paper (we don’t like plastic), carefully open your kit and lay the paper flat on your table, lift up the paper with the herbs and slowly pour the herbs into your jar. If any herbs fall, it will be caught by the paper wrap on the table, when you are finished pouring check and see if any herbs are on your other wrap if so pour that into the jar.

Now pour in your first 1.75 Liter bottle of Vodka, when finished start pouring in the second bottle, I like to use a measuring cup as I add in the Vodka, this allows me to keep track of how alcohol is in the jar. Two things to remember, we can use up to 4.25 liters(144oz) of Vodka, but we always need to maintain 2″ or more space from the top of the jar for shaking purposes. Stop pouring when either of those two factors occur and write down the total amount of Vodka used. For reference a 1.75 liter bottle is about 59 ounces.

Make a little mark with a magic marker on the jar at the level line of your liniment. You will notice in a day or so the level will be a little lower than your mark. Don’t worry your liniment is not evaporating, the herbs act like a sponge and absorb the alcohol, so after a day or so just add some more alcohol so it is back to your mark you made.

To really speed up the extraction process the Dit Da Jow should be shaken at least twice daily for 4 weeks, this is referred to as agitation.If you can shake it even more often then your Jow will be stronger faster and you can can use it sooner.

After a month or so you can take a little bit out for use and store the rest. The longer the Dit Da Jow sits it does become stronger but at a slow pace, that’s why agitation is so important as it forces a faster extraction.

So important facts to remember are:

1. Always use glass
2. Vodka is a very good solvent
3. Shake as often as possible the first 3-4 weeks this is the key to a strong Jow in a short period of time.
4. The aromatic nature of some of the herbs requires preparation as soon as you can upon receipt
5. The longer the Dit Da Jow sits, the stronger it becomes

If you are interested in the Iron Palm liniment the same suggestions and methods above apply.

Advanced Preparation Method

If you are a lab geek like me then you might want to try this variation if you are in a hurry and want to save a week off of the brewing time. This will not necessarily make a stronger Jow but will extract it faster.

You will need a couple of extra jars that are at least 1.75 liters (59 oz) in size or larger. The first step is to add your herbs in the big gallon jar and add one 1.75 liter bottle of vodka, which technically is called a solvent and after it is added to the herbs it is called the Menstruum. Seal up the jar and shake twice daily for 7 days, for about 2 minutes each time.

After the seventh day pour ONLY the Menstruum from the big jar into your smaller jar. You will not get the full 1.75 liters out because the herbs will have absorbed some of the alcohol.

Get what you can and then seal up the jar and place it in a dark cool location. The next step is important but you must be careful, you need to heat up the second bottle of vodka so it is warm to hot anywhere from 85-100 degrees is good.

The easiest way to do this is to pour your second 1.75 liter bottle of vodka into your extra 1.75 liter jar, seal it up and place in a water bath. A water bath is just a pan or pot of water that is being heated up on the stove and then a jar or other type container is placed inside and then is warmed up by the heated water. USE SAFETY GOGGLES AND GLOVES FOR THE NEXT STEP!

Heat up your jar of Vodka( solvent) until it gets warm to the touch or by using a thermometer (85-100 degrees)then while the Vodka is warm pour it into the jar with the herbs. Seal up the jar and shake hard for a couple of minutes.

The next step is to shake daily twice daily for 7 days. After the seventh day you can pour the contents of the first jar that you tucked away into the big jar with the herbs. For the next seven days shake twice daily, after the seventh day it is ready to use.

What you have done is called a double maceration. By removing the solvent after seven days then adding fresh new hot solvent you have sped up the extraction process. Solvents as they add molecular compounds from the herbs and become the Menstruum slow down their ability to absorb the compounds. Adding fresh solvent that has been warmed up starts the extraction process up again at full speed allowing the solvent to absorb more compounds at normal or faster speed.

The most important aspect of making a strong Jow in a short period of time is agitation or shaking the jar. Without it you will never pull all the compounds out of the herbs in a timely manner, the ancients did not worry about how long it took, they just buried the vessel and left it for a year or longer. By following this more advanced method you will save yourself at least 7 days, if time is not a issue the standard method will work the same, it will just take about a week longer but the end result will be the same. But shaking your jar the first 3-4 weeks is crucial no matter what method you use.