For example, when it comes to tinctures made via the folk method, 100-proof alcohol is what is often used. This means that your alcohol will contain 50% water and 50% alcohol.
One dosing method that people often follow for folk tinctures suggests 1 drop of a 50% tincture per 2 pounds of body weight.
Since the average 5-year-old weighs 40 pounds, they’ll get 20 drops of tincture. Keep in mind though that this is at least half water, so let’s say that’s 10 drops total of alcohol. If these 10 drops are diluted in half of a cup of juice, this would end up being .5% worth of alcohol. Now .5% really isn’t that much, especially when you consider that it’s about the same as you’d find in kombucha or a ripe banana. To get some perspective, though, the United Kingdom health service recommends that adolescents (15-17 years old) don’t exceed 50 milliliters of hard liquor a day. That 50 milliliters are roughly 1,000 drops (10 teaspoons), give or take a few.
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