By April Lisante

I remember when it was a treat to get some of that Country Time Lemonade powder mix and stir up something cool for a summer afternoon.

We guzzled that sugar water as kids, even if it was just one ingredient away from the innards of a Pixy Stix.

Starbucks has indoctrinated a lot of us to fruity iced teas – oooh dragonfruit! - but it always seemed to me that there was still something lacking in the ice-cold summer drinks department.

But lately, I’ve been noticing a trend toward sophisticated backyard coolers, and by sophisticated, I don’t necessarily mean alcoholic, I mean more creative - and very fresh. Chunks of fresh fruit mixed with homemade ades. Muddled herbs atop spritzers. Drinks that seems to say: “Come hang out on my veranda for a spell.”

The idea has been brewing for a while at restaurants and bars, but this homemade revolution might just be the libation experimentation of folks with a lot more backyard time on their hands. With everyone home, and perhaps tending gardens of their own for the first time, the trend managed to reach a crescendo in the national spotlight this month, turning up on the covers of numerous magazines and on television food segments.

Better Homes & Gardens offered tutorials featuring drinks with everything from lemon verbena and peppercorns to fennel and juniper berries. Martha Stewart headed into her test kitchen to create yellow watermelon margaritas (which can be made virgin). And even Southern Lady magazine whipped up a nectar and basil Bellini that you can make sans-prosecco.

We’re talking Ranch Water mocktails (made with melon and ginger), spritzers with nectarine pieces and even watermelon chunks floating in homemade lemonade. The fruit frenzy goes on and on.

This push for what I’ve playfully dubbed “farmer’s market muddles” has been a thing at upscale bars for a while. A few steps further than the staid old mint julep, bartenders have been experimenting with muddling herbs and macerating fruits to create drinks garnished with everything from peaches to jalapenos. But this crossover to backyard bartending creates a whole new world of possibilities for many of us in this 90-degree heat. Sure, you can add prosecco or white wine to ramp them up a bit, but they also hold their own as refreshing club soda spritzers.

“I think people have a lot more time on their hands and maybe they’ve started their own gardens,” said Tavern on the Hill bartender Madeline Hart. “It’s so easy for people to grow their own herbs and things.”

Hart and her partner David Coyle, who is also a bartender and beverage manager at the Tavern, swear by seasonal fruits and herbs to take drinks to another level. Fresh mint is one of their favorite summer go-to herbs.

“Once you’ve used fresh fruit juice, or herbs, it makes such a difference in the quality of the drink,” Coyle said.

In Ambler, The Lucky Well chef and owner Chad Rosenthal has been experimenting with some coolers of his own. Since the state began allowing restaurants to do take-out libations, he’s figured out a way to make spritzers with fresh fruits and cork them in wine bottles, which can end up holding about half a dozen pours. This week, he just opened outdoor seating at his Main Street Ambler resto, so customers can sip outside. Though everyone went nuts at Mother’s Day when he featured a bottled fruit sangria, one of his most popular drinks right now is The Branding Iron, a lemon and honey gin cooler topped with thyme, jalapeno pepper and infused with muddled cucumber. When he makes this in small batches and bottles it, the drink gets saturated with just enough kick from the herb and jalapeno.

“People are looking for a lighter alternative to drink at the pool or the beach,” Rosenthal said. “The trend started when sparkling wine got really big. It’s getting into that season and the fresh fruit and herbs are abundant near us.”

“It’s a really good summer drink, really light,” said Rosenthal, a former Food Network Star contestant and chef.

Once you find the herbs and fruits you want to use, it’s important to know how to prepare them to get the most flavor infused into the drinks. One important point is knowing the difference between muddling and macerating. To muddle, you add all the dry ingredients to a glass first, along with your simple syrup, and press them using a spoon if you don’t have an official muddling tool around. The spoon releases the flavors in the herbs or fruits. Then you add the sparkling water or lemonade.

To macerate fruit before you add it to a drink, you soak the chopped pieces in sugar and water to bring out the sweetness in the fruit. Then you add it into the drink.

Try making a few of these at home, and serve them on your front porch, backyard patio or anywhere you want to cool down for a spell. These versions are presented with alcohol, but you can substitute an extra half ounce of simple syrup for the rum to make the Pineapple Mojito non-alcoholic.

Backyard Boozeberry Blitz

(Tavern on the Hill)

• 2 oz. Stoli Blueberi Vodka
• 1 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• Fresh blueberries and a twist of lemon to garnish

Combine all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass or pour over the rocks in a snifter. Garnish with blueberries and a twist of lemon.

Porch Party Pineapple Mojito

(Tavern on the Hill)

• 2 oz. Bacardi White Rum
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• Club soda
• 1 large sprig of mint
• ¼ cup grilled pineapple chunks

Completely skin the pineapple and cut into 1/2 -inch slices. Place directly on hot grill and cook on each side until caramelized. Cut into chunks.

In a shaker, muddle together grilled pineapple, fresh lime juice, simple syrup and mint. Add ice. Add Bacardi and shake. Pour all contents into a tall glass. Top with club soda. Garnish with mint and a chunk of pineapple.

The Branding Iron

(The Lucky Well)

• 3 slices cucumber, peeled
• 5 oz. fresh lemon, strained
• 1 oz. honey
• 1 oz. lemon syrup
• 1.5 oz. gin of choice
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 slice jalapeno (remove seeds)

Overfill a 10-ounce rocks glass with ice. Muddle peeled cucumber and fresh lemon juice together in a shaker. Add honey, lemon syrup, gin, shake and pour over ice. Garnish with sprig of thyme and jalapeno.