Learn how to make a simple mullein tincture at home using fresh or dried leaves. This easy herbal remedy is traditionally used for lung support, cough relief, and chest congestion. A must-save natural recipe before cold season hits—tap to see the full step-by-step guide.

I never paid mullein much attention until a chest cold knocked me flat one January and wouldn’t let go. Three solid weeks of coughing, and nothing was helping. My neighbor, who’s been making herbal remedies since before I was born, brought over a small amber bottle and told me to put a dropper full in warm water a few times a day.

Within a couple of days the cough was finally breaking up, and by the end of the week I was sleeping through the night again.

That was mullein tincture. I asked her to show me how she made it, and I honestly couldn’t believe how simple the whole thing was.

Leaves in a jar with vodka, wait six weeks, strain it. Two ingredients. I’ve been making a batch every July since then.

We’ve got mullein growing all over our property, big fuzzy rosettes along the driveway and tall flower stalks popping up by the fence line every other summer.

I used to mow right over the first-year plants without knowing what they were. Now I leave them be and harvest what I need, which is really only a handful of leaves from a few plants to fill a quart jar.

What is Mullein Tincture Used For?

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) has been used medicinally for a very long time. The Greek physician Dioscorides recommended it for lung complaints back in the first century. In Appalachia, people have been brewing mullein tea and smoking the dried leaves for chest congestion for generations. There’s even an old Irish folk remedy for tuberculosis that involved boiling the fresh leaves in milk and drinking it daily.

Most herbalists today reach for mullein when there’s something going on with the respiratory system. Coughs, bronchitis, sore throats, tight chests, that lingering congestion after a cold. The leaves have about 3% mucilage in them, which is the same slippery, soothing compound found in marshmallow root, and it coats and calms irritated tissue. The saponins in the plant work as a natural expectorant to help loosen mucus so you can actually get it out.

Beyond the lungs, mullein has some traditional use as a mild lymphatic herb. Some people use it topically on minor wounds, though for external use a mullein salve or infused oil is a better fit than a tincture. Just… works better that way for some reason.

Identifying Mullein

Common mullein is a biennial. First year it forms a low rosette of thick, velvety leaves that feel like flannel. These leaves are gray-green to silver, oblong or lance-shaped, and covered in tiny hairs. They can grow over a foot long on mature plants.

Second year it sends up a tall spike—anywhere from 2 to 8 feet high—with smaller leaves up the stem and clusters of yellow flowers at the top. The flowers have five petals and open randomly along the spike through the summer.

You’ll find mullein in dry, disturbed soil. Roadsides, gravel pits, vacant lots, pastures that don’t get mowed. It likes full sun and doesn’t mind poor soil. I’ve spotted it growing out of cracks in parking lots.

Avoid harvesting near busy roads or anywhere that gets sprayed. The leaves are fuzzy, which means they trap dust and exhaust particles. Find a clean patch away from traffic.

Harvesting Mullein

Pick leaves from first-year rosettes in late fall, or from second-year plants in early spring before the flower stalk shoots up. The leaves get tougher and smaller once the plant starts flowering.

I take just a few leaves from each plant, leaving plenty for the plant to keep growing. If you’re harvesting flowers too—which you can add to your tincture—gather them when they’re freshly open, before they brown.

Dry mullein leaves on screens or in baskets out of direct sunlight. They’ll shrink down significantly. One pound of fresh leaves might give you a few ounces dried. Store the dried leaves in glass jars with tight lids until you’re ready to tincture.

Ingredients for Mullein Tincture

You need mullein leaves and vodka. That’s the whole list.

For the mullein, I use fresh leaves from the plants on our property. You want the green, soft, healthy-looking ones. If you’re buying dried, Mountain Rose Herbs and Starwest Botanicals both carry good quality dried mullein leaf.

For the alcohol, vodka is the standard choice because it’s neutral and doesn’t fight with the herb. I like to use Smirnoff 100 proof for fresh-herb tinctures. It’s cheap enough, but not so cheap that taking it makes you wince. The bottom-shelf stuff can be rough, and you’ll be tasting this every day during cold season, so it’s worth spending the extra few dollars for something decent.

Fresh mullein leaves hold a good bit of water, and when that water mixes with your alcohol during extraction it dilutes the proof. That’s why you want at least 80 proof for fresh herbs, and 100 proof is better. You can also use brandy or whiskey if you’d like, and the flavor comes through, which some people actually prefer.

Never use rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol. Those are toxic and not meant to be consumed, even in small amounts.

If you’d rather skip alcohol entirely, you can make an alcohol-free glycerite instead, and I’ve included instructions for that below.

How to Make Mullein Tincture

Wash your fresh mullein leaves and chop or tear them into rough pieces to increase the surface area.

I usually just chop them up with in small pieces. Fill a clean quart mason jar about 2/3 to 3/4 full with the chopped leaves, pressing them down a bit but leaving room for the alcohol to circulate.

Pour your vodka over the leaves until the jar is full to about an inch from the rim. Every bit of plant material needs to stay submerged, as anything above the liquid line can mold and ruin the batch. Push floaters down and add more vodka if you need to.

Pack the jar about two-thirds full and fill with vodka. Everything has to stay submerged.

Put the lid on tight. If you’re using a metal lid, stick a piece of parchment paper between the lid and the jar, because alcohol vapor will corrode bare metal over six weeks and you’ll end up with rust flakes floating around in there. *(I learned that one the hard way.)* Label the jar with the date and contents, because in six weeks you absolutely won’t remember when you started it.

Stash it in a dark cupboard for 6 to 8 weeks. Give it a shake whenever you think of it. I shake mine every time I’m in that cupboard looking for the olive oil. Check the liquid level now and then, especially the first couple of weeks, because the leaves can absorb quite a lot and you may need to top it off.

After 6 to 8 weeks, it’s time to strain. Pour everything through cheesecloth set over a clean bowl, and squeeze the plant material to get every drop out.

Now here’s a thing that’s specific to mullein: the leaves are covered in very fine hairs, almost like fuzz, and some of those will get through your cheesecloth. If you take the tincture like that the fuzz can actually irritate your throat on the way down, which is counterproductive when you’re taking it for a cough. So run it through a coffee filter for a second pass. It’s slow and the filter clogs up, but it’s worth the extra ten minutes.

Funnel the strained tincture into amber glass dropper bottles, label them, and store in a cool dark spot. A properly made batch will easily last three to five years.

Using Dried Mullein Leaves

If you don’t have fresh mullein available, dried leaves work just fine. You can dry your own by spreading them on a flat basket out of direct sunlight for a few days, or buy dried mullein leaf from an herbal supplier.

Two changes: fill the jar about halfway instead of two-thirds *(dried herbs are more concentrated and they swell up a lot as they absorb liquid, so if you pack too much in, the leaves soak up all the vodka and you’re left with damp mush and nothing to strain)*, and 80 proof vodka works fine since there’s less moisture to dilute things. Everything else is the same, including the coffee filter step for the fuzz.

Alcohol-Free Mullein Glycerite

Glycerin works if you’re making this for kids or you don’t do alcohol. It doesn’t pull out as much medicine overall, but it’s actually better than alcohol at extracting mucilage—that soothing slime that helps with coughs. So there’s a trade-off.

For dried leaves: Fill jar halfway. Cover with 3 parts glycerin to 1 part distilled water.

For fresh leaves: Fill two-thirds full. Cover with straight glycerin. The leaves have enough water already.

Shake it every single day. Glycerin is thick and needs the agitation. Wait 6 to 8 weeks. Strain the same way. Store in the fridge. Lasts about a year or two.

Mullein Tincture Dosage

For general respiratory support, take about half a dropper to one full dropper once or twice a day. For an active cough or chest congestion, about a quarter teaspoon two to three times a day. For a sore throat, try 10 to 15 drops in warm water, gargle and swallow, and repeat as often as you need to.

I take mine in warm water with a spoonful of honey most mornings during cold season. It’s become a little routine. You can also drop it straight under the tongue if the vodka taste doesn’t bother you, or add it to tea or juice.

Mullein is well tolerated by most people, but if you’ve never tried it, start small. Avoid including the seeds in your tincture, as there’s some evidence they may be mildly toxic.

Not recommended for pregnant or nursing women without talking to a healthcare provider first.

Disclaimer about herbal remedies. I’ve been making herbal remedies at home for my family for years now, but I want to be upfront—I’m self-taught, not a clinical herbalist. Everything here comes from my own reading, research, and experience. I don’t have formal certifications that would qualify me to give you medical advice, and I’m sharing this to encourage a broader interest in medicinal plants, not to replace your doctor.

Please do your own research and verify what you read here with multiple reputable sources. It’s always possible to have an adverse reaction to even a mild herb, and plenty of people are allergic to things they’ve never tried before. Always talk to your doctor or a certified herbalist before adding anything new to your routine, especially if you’re taking medications or if you’re pregnant or nursing.