First, a warning: Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is not a Big Gulp at your corner convenience store. Take a chug of Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and you’ll get a brain freeze that won’t thaw until Labor Day.

Here’s the blueprint: strawberry-puree syrup at the bottom, lemonade on top, add lots of ice, stir gently, sip slowly.

Total calories: 270 (for a 16-ounce, medium cup). Fat grams: 0. Carbs: 68 g. Sodium: 30 mg. Dietary fiber: 0 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $1.89.

Let’s establish the texture issue. McDonald’s Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is not like the frozen treat you get at baseball games, where it’s frozen like a rock and you have to pick at it with a plastic spoon. Odds that the spoon will crack before you get halfway down the cup: 50-50, at best.

McDonald’s Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is not like an Icee you get to keep the kids quiet while you fill up at the gas station. That’s just foam, and the extra-large cup weighs half an ounce. I don’t know how they get away with that product. It barely produces one polite-society-size burp.

Remember a Mister Misty at Dairy Queen or a Slurpee at the old 7-11? Or slush up North during winter where you think you’re stepping on hard ice but it’s just icy water and your feet are freezing cold all day? You’re getting close to McDonald’s Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.

Actually, this is a seriously well-prepared product for a drive-thru, as are most of McDonald’s McCafe drinks. Each drink is made fresh to order, just for you. See? You ARE special. Never mind the car honking behind you with the driver screaming, “Hey, move it, what are you doing, buying a house up there?”

First, McDonald’s grinds and pulverizes the ice in a custom-designed blender. The ice comes out like a frozen slurry that is blended to make the lemonade base. The friendly mixologist — that’s what it’s coming to at McDonald’s — puts four squirts of thick, super-sweet strawberry syrup at the bottom of the cup. Then comes the slurry lemonade. The potion is ever-so-gently stirred so the red is swirled through the yellow lemonade, yet keeps its distinct color.

It looks like one of the fruity drinks at a Caribbean resort, which isn’t far from the message delivered here. Add a shot of vodka, and you’re halfway home — but wait until you’re all the way home, OK? Don’t drink a spiked Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and drive. It will be hard to explain to the kids why their Happy Meals are cold when the family comes to bail you out.

McDonald’s Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is cold — don’t slam one down, no matter how thirsty you think you are. This is a sipping drink. Also, the lemonade is very tart, and your face will scrunch up like your aunt who’s been smoking for 58 years and wonders why her voice sounds like Barry White.

The strawberry syrup at the bottom is pure-sugar sweet, so make sure the drink is stirred properly, even if you have to make the red go away. Since you’re sipping with a straw, you don’t want to hit too much strawberry syrup on your first pull.

McDonald’s Frozen Strawberry Lemonade also comes in a small (12-ounce) cup for $1.59 and a large (22-ounce) cup for $2.19.

Bottom line: This is a fun drink for sipping and socializing. It’s really good stuff that’s a surprise treat after lunch or dinner. It’s not a substitute for a soft drink in your No. 5 meal, though. Another extra at McDonald’s — no surprise there.