Every time I see a Country Time lemonade commercial it does bring me back to the summers of my childhood before there was a plethora of bottled, canned and ready-mix drinks. Yes, I am dating myself and yes, I’m as old as the hills, but the drinks we had were indeed cooling and refreshing. Oh, yes we did have a bottled Pepsi or Coca Cola on occasion, usually for special occasions like the 4th of July, Labor Day or a birtday party.

But for everyday cool-downs, we had lemonade, root beer, iced tea and other cococtions to slurp down under the oak trees that shaded our backyard. The beverages were chilled with ice that had been crushed by beating it, wrapped in a towel, with an old rubber hammer!

Yep, that were the good old days. Here are some of the drinks I remember:

LEMON CREAM SODA
2 quarts water
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
3/4 cup light brown sugar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Club soda * optional
Crushed ice

In a large pitcher combine the water, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Serve over crushed ice and top with a splash of club soda.

GRAPE ICE
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 (12-ounce) can frozen grape juice concentrate, undiluted

Combine the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until the grape concentrate is completely melted. Pour the mixture into freeze trays or a plastic bowl. Freeze until firm. Stir several times during the freezing process.

Filed Under: Wine & Libations