Oriental Medicine - Making a Jow

In terms of combining ingredients to make a jow there are really only three steps:

• Coarsely grind all the herbs
• Place the herbs or formula in a container. 
• Fill with the required amount of alcohol (vodka, sake, etc.) 
• Seal the container and set aside in a "proper place" to age (remembering to agitate the container once or twice per day during the aging period. "Proper place", here, is defined as a dark, "cool"/room temperature environment.) 

The reason that a liquid like vodka or sake is used for the preparation is that some herbal properties are better extracted by water, others by alcohol, these liquids are composed of both. In addition they are relatively free of other substances found in liquids such as whiskey that may interfere with the properties of the jow.

This is the traditional way to produce jow. However, recognizing that some herbal properties are more easily extracted than others, there is a slightly modified method of extraction that will allow the removal of the easily extracted herbal components the first time, and then the removal of the more difficult to extract properties the second time. The result is a jow that is more complete and potent in terms of all the properties of the recipe. 

The steps then would be as follows:

• Place the herbs in a container
• Fill with half the required amount of alcohol (eg: if your goal is to make 1 gallon of jow or tonic, use half a gallon of alcohol ) 
• Seal the container and let the formula age for 6 weeks. 
• After this initial period, strain the liquid mixture off into a second container, seal and set it aside for the moment.
• Re-seal the original container and tip it to one side, allowing whatever liquid remains, to collect. 
• Two to three days later strain off this remaining liquid and, add it to what has been put aside in the second container.
• Take the original container and re-fill with the second half of your alcohol; re-seal and let this age for an extended period of time – the longer the better. 
• After the second aging period is complete, strain off the liquid and combine it with the batch (which you had set aside in that second container.) 
• Remember to repeat that step of tipping the container and collecting the remaining liquid, which you add to your finished bottle. Now seal your container or containers, store and use as needed. 

Still one more method for making jow is the following:

• Measure off equal amounts of each herb and place in separate containers. 
• Grind each herb into a coarse powder (fine powder will adhere to itself and clot, preventing thorough absorption). 
• Place the herbs into a large non-metallic pot. 
• Add alcohol
• Simmer slowly over a low flame for 3.5 hours 
• Remove from heat. 
• Pour into a two gallon jar. 
• Add six more quarts of alcohol
• Seal the jar so it is air-tight. 
• Store in a cool, dry, dark place. 
• Age from 2 months to 1 year. 

A few points worth noting about jow.

•  The longer the jow ages ( with the herbs in the bottle ), the stronger it becomes. 
•  Commercially prepared jow is markedly different from the traditional preparation in that the latter requires that the herbs be loosely ground, and once made, left to sit for a period of time in the bottle ( the longer it sits, the stronger the jow becomes ). Commercial jow never has any of the herbs at the bottom of the bottle. 
•  Never buy jow in clear glass or plastic bottles. Over time the plastic starts to break down into the herbal formula, and in clear glass the exposure to light will over time affect the jow in possibly adverse ways.
•  A decent Jow should look like soy sauce in color and have a slight alcohol, medicinal smell. The Jow recipes will differ with respect to how dark and “smelly” they are depending on the quality of herbs, time left to soak before use, cooking properties of some of the herbs, combinations of the specific herbs or the specific usage properties. 
•  It is important that Jow not be rubbed into open wounds, taken internally or gotten in the eyes.