🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Consuming tonic wine has been a common folk practice throughout history. As stated in *Qianjin Yaofang*: “In winter, drink medicinal wine two or three doses; stop at beginning of spring. You will enjoy lifelong happiness and never fall ill.” Hence, medicinal wine has long been known as the “supreme among all medicines.” Its ease of preparation makes it ideal for home brewing, and “tonic wine for health preservation” has become widely popular. Here we introduce several simple-to-make medicinal wines suitable for winter consumption, beneficial for tonifying and strengthening the body. Please select and prepare according to your own needs.
Deer Antler Wine
3g deer antler, 500g white liquor. Place the deer antler in a gauze bag, tie tightly, and immerse in a bottle or jar containing white liquor. Seal and soak for 7 days. It warms the kidneys and strengthens yang, suitable for various symptoms due to liver and kidney insufficiency. Deer antler tastes sweet and salty, is warm in nature, and enters the liver and kidney meridians. It is a renowned tonic for yang. According to *Bencao Gangmu*, it “promotes essence production, nourishes marrow, enriches blood, boosts yang, strengthens tendons and bones, treats all kinds of deficiencies, deafness, dim vision, dizziness, and chronic diarrhea.” Those with naturally strong yang or yin deficiency with hyperactive yang should avoid drinking.
Ganoderma and Ginseng Wine
50g Ganoderma lucidum, 25g ginseng, 500g rock sugar, 2000g white liquor. Wash Ganoderma, slice thinly; slice ginseng; place both in a bottle or jar with white liquor. Add rock sugar and soak for 15–30 days. This wine greatly replenishes vital energy, benefits the lungs and spleen. Suitable for all types of qi deficiency, especially spleen-lung qi deficiency causing poor appetite, fatigue, abdominal distension, regurgitation, shortness of breath, wheezing, chronic cough, and pulmonary tuberculosis. Ganoderma lucidum is the dried fruiting body of a polypore fungus (Ganoderma lucidum or purple Ganoderma). It tastes sweet, is neutral in nature, and enters the heart, spleen, lung, and kidney meridians. *Bencao Gangmu* mentions it “treats chronic exhaustion.” It is said to “help with neurasthenia, insomnia, and digestive disorders.” Ganoderma calms the mind, strengthens lung qi, invigorates the spleen, and fortifies the kidneys. Combined with ginseng, which greatly replenishes vital energy, regular consumption of Ganoderma and Ginseng Wine in winter greatly benefits disease prevention, health maintenance, and longevity. Note: Ginseng should not be consumed with radish; avoid tea while drinking this wine.
Curculigo Wine
50g Curculigo orchioides, 500g white liquor. Wash Curculigo, place in a gauze bag, tie tightly, and immerse in a jar of white liquor. Soak for 7 days. It warms the kidneys and strengthens yang, suitable for spermatorrhea, impotence, premature ejaculation, frequent urination, or incontinence due to liver-kidney insufficiency, as well as cold-damp arthralgia. Curculigo is the rhizome of a perennial herb in the Amaryllidaceae family. It tastes pungent, is hot in nature, and is toxic. It enters the kidney meridian. By entering the kidney, it warms and tonifies kidney yang, serving as a potent remedy for yang deficiency and cold. *Bencao Zhengyi* states: “Curculigo is a specialized medicine for warming and tonifying kidney yang, and also helps eliminate cold-damp.” Those with yin deficiency and fire excess should avoid drinking.
Sea Dog Testicle Wine
30–50g sea dog testicle, 500g white liquor. Wash the sea dog testicle, cut into small pieces, place in a gauze bag, tie tightly, and immerse in a jar of white liquor. Soak for one week. It warms the kidneys and strengthens yang, suitable for impotence, spermatorrhea, cold semen, backache, aversion to cold, preference for warmth, male infertility, and female infertility due to kidney yang deficiency. Sea dog testicle is the external reproductive organ of male sea dogs. It tastes salty, is hot in nature, and enters the liver and kidney meridians. Its main function is to warm the kidneys and strengthen yang. *Yaoxing Lun* says it “treats chronic male ailments, abdominal masses, cold accumulation, wasting diseases, and kidney damage leading to emaciation.” Since it is hot in nature, those with inherent heat or yin deficiency with fire excess should avoid drinking.
Seahorse Wine
One pair of seahorses, 500g white liquor. Wash the seahorses, place in a jar or bottle with white liquor, and soak for half a month. This wine warms the kidneys and strengthens yang, activates blood circulation, resolves stasis, and disperses nodules. Suitable for impotence, spermatorrhea, enuresis due to kidney yang deficiency, as well as injuries from falls and bruises, blood stasis, and hard lumps. It can also be used for various tumors and abscesses. Seahorse, also known as dragon’s child, belongs to the Syngnathidae family. It tastes salty, is warm in nature, and enters the liver and kidney meridians. Seahorse warms and tonifies kidney yang, while also activating blood and resolving stasis, dispersing nodules. *Bencao Shiyi* records: “It treats difficult childbirth; wearing it on the body brings miraculous results.” *Bencao Gangmu* also notes: “Warms the water organs, strengthens vaginal function, dissolves hard masses, treats boils and carbuncles.” Due to its warm-hot nature, those with heat syndromes should avoid drinking.
Rehmannia Wine
20g Rehmannia glutinosa, 50g white liquor. Wash Rehmannia, slice it, place in a cloth bag, tie tightly, and immerse in a jar or bottle with white liquor. Soak for about half a month. It tonifies the spleen, moistens the lungs, and nourishes the kidneys. Suitable for spleen deficiency causing loss of appetite and fatigue, lung yin deficiency causing dry cough without phlegm, pulmonary tuberculosis, and kidney deficiency causing weakness in the waist and legs, dizziness, etc. Rehmannia glutinosa is the root of a perennial herb in the Liliaceae family, including species such as Rehmannia glutinosa, Polygonatum sibiricum, and Rehmannia deltoidea. It tastes sweet, is neutral in nature, and enters the spleen, lung, and kidney meridians. *Bencao Gangmu* states: “Tonifies all deficiencies and fills essence and marrow.” Modern pharmacological studies show Rehmannia lowers blood pressure and helps prevent atherosclerosis and fatty liver. Entering the spleen meridian, it strengthens qi; entering the lung meridian, it moistens dryness; entering the kidney meridian, it nourishes yin. However, Rehmannia is greasy in nature, so those with spleen deficiency and dampness, loose stools, or excessive phlegm should avoid drinking.
Black Sesame and Walnut Wine
25g black sesame, 25g walnut meat, 500g white liquor. Wash black sesame and walnuts, place together in a jar, pour in white liquor, seal, and soak for about half a month. This wine moistens the lungs and stops coughing, tonifies the kidneys and consolidates essence, lubricates the intestines and promotes bowel movements, strengthens the body, and delays aging. Suitable for lung dryness with cough and wheezing, dry cough with little phlegm due to lung yin deficiency, kidney deficiency with cough and wheezing, soreness in the waist and knees, spermatorrhea, impotence, frequent urination, constipation, dizziness due to liver-kidney deficiency, forgetfulness, early graying hair, and insufficient postpartum milk due to blood deficiency. Black sesame nourishes the liver and kidneys, darkens hair; walnut meat moistens the lungs, stops coughing, tonifies the kidneys, consolidates essence, and lubricates the intestines. Both are excellent tonics for the lungs and kidneys.
Ginseng and Goji Berry Wine
10g ginseng, 20g goji berries, 500g white liquor. Slice ginseng, wash goji berries, place in a jar with white liquor, and soak for about half a month. This wine greatly replenishes vital energy and nourishes the liver and eyes. Suitable for all types of qi deficiency, such as lung qi deficiency causing shortness of breath, spleen qi deficiency causing poor appetite, kidney qi deficiency causing frequent urination or incontinence, and heart qi deficiency causing palpitations and insomnia. Also useful for middle qi deficiency causing rectal prolapse and gastric ptosis. Additionally, it treats liver-kidney deficiency causing night blindness and blurred vision. Ginseng greatly replenishes vital energy; goji berries nourish the liver and brighten the eyes. Ginseng should not be consumed with radish; avoid tea while drinking this wine.
Western Ginseng Wine
50g Western ginseng, 500g white liquor. Cut Western ginseng into slices, place in a jar with white liquor, and soak for half a month. It replenishes qi, nourishes yin, and clears heat. Suitable for qi-blood deficiency causing shortness of breath, dry mouth, sore throat, hoarseness, dry cough, afternoon fever, hemoptysis, night sweats, and tuberculosis. Western ginseng is a precious tonic, primarily used to replenish qi and nourish yin, without causing dryness. Regular consumption of this wine is an excellent choice for replenishing qi and nourishing yin and treating deficiency. Those with cold constitution should avoid it. People with abdominal cold pain or cold diarrhea should refrain from drinking.
Cordyceps Wine
15g Cordyceps militaris, 1000g white liquor. Crush Cordyceps, place in a jar, pour in white liquor, seal, and soak for about half a month. It tonifies the lungs and kidneys, stops coughing, and transforms phlegm. Suitable for cough and shortness of breath due to lung qi deficiency or combined lung-kidney deficiency, bloody cough, or impotence, spermatorrhea, and soreness in the waist and knees after illness, or general debility. Cordyceps militaris tastes sweet, is neutral in nature, and enters the lung and kidney meridians. It gently tonifies kidney yang and yin essence, especially beneficial for lung yin deficiency. Avoid use in cases of external wind-cold or real-heat cough.
Although tonic wines offer benefits, they must not be overconsumed. Generally, take once in the morning and once in the evening, preferably before meals, to facilitate absorption aided by the alcohol. Medicinal wine is warm and slightly hot in nature; each serving should be 10–30 ml. Some habitual drinkers may treat medicinal wine as table wine and drink excessively, ultimately harming the liver and spleen. When consuming tonic wines, avoid eating radishes, scallions, garlic, etc. Stop consumption during colds, fever, pregnancy, or menstruation. Additionally, hypertensive, cardiac, liver, or severe ulcer patients should use caution with medicinal wine. *Dietary Therapy and Health Care*