Sarsaparilla Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Sarsaparilla (Smilax aristolochiifolia, long sold as Smilax medica) is Mexican sarsaparilla, a woody climbing vine of the greenbrier family, Smilacaceae, native to the humid forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Its prickly, angular stems climb by paired tendrils to many meters, with heart-shaped, leathery leaves marked by three to five arching veins, small greenish flowers in umbels and clusters of red to black berries. Long, slender, fibrous roots spread from a knotted rootstock and were the flavoring of the original root beer. We extract the dried root.