I tried Ina Garten's new cosmopolitan recipe and it's even better than the one that made her an Instagram star

Garten was already a household name to food lovers who had poured through her many cookbooks and watched "Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network.

But Garten found a whole new group of fans when she posted a video at the start of the pandemic that showed her sipping a cosmopolitan from a huge martini glass.

"It's always cocktail hour in a crisis!" she wrote in the caption of the video, which has been viewed more than 3 million times.

I whipped up Garten's cosmopolitan when I spent a day living like the "Barefoot Contessa" star during lockdown. It was the first real cocktail I'd ever made, and I was a huge fan. The drink was super easy to whip up, and I loved its gorgeous color and refreshing flavor.

Fast-forward three years and I still love making Garten's recipes (and cocktails). So when I saw she had a watermelon cosmopolitan recipe in her newest cookbook, "Go-To Dinners," I pulled out my trusty cocktail shaker.

Garten credits her watermelon cocktail recipe to Rob Marshall and John DeLuca, a Hollywood director-producer power couple behind major films like "Chicago" and the recent revival of "The Little Mermaid."

"My friends Rob Marshall and John DeLuca love creating new cocktails," she writes in the recipe's description. "Their delicious variation on a cosmo has become my go-to summer drink because everyone loves this refreshing blend of watermelon purée spiked with a hit of fresh lime juice plus vodka. Yum!"

To make four of Garten's watermelon cosmos at home, you'll need:

• 4 cups diced red watermelon
• 6 ounces good vodka (Ina recommends Grey Goose)
• 3 ounces Cointreau or triple sec
• 2 ounces freshly-squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 4 large mint sprigs, for garnish

Before you start, Garten recommends throwing some martini glasses in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill them.

I didn't have any martini glasses on hand, so I used wine glasses instead. I also found that 15 minutes in the freezer still did the trick.

Garten is always a champion of using freshly-squeezed juice in her cocktails, and the watermelon cosmos are no different.

Since I was making five drinks instead of four, I adjusted the recipe and squeezed an extra lime for this step.

I'd never carved a watermelon before, but it was easier than I expected. I cut my small seedless watermelon in half, then sliced those halves into quarters before separating the flesh from the rind.

Once that was done, I diced the watermelon chunks so they'd be ready for the blender.

If you're using a seeded watermelon, Garten recommends using a food mill for this step. According to her recipe, you should place a food mill fitted with the largest disk over a bowl and pass the diced watermelon through the mill to separate it from the seeds and pulp.

This removes any extra pulp from the juice.

The bright-pink color was stunning and looked perfect for summer.

Remember you'll need 6 ounces of vodka and 3 ounces of Cointreau if you're making four cosmos (I used a little extra to make five).

I filled a cocktail shaker half full with ice, poured in some of my cocktail mixture, and shook the drink for a full 30 seconds, per Garten's instructions.

Make sure to hold the top and don't fill the shaker up all the way — I learned that lesson the hard way when I first tried to make Garten's cosmos during the pandemic!

I added my sprig of mint and admired the beautiful drink, which had a pink hue that was reminiscent of Garten's original recipe. When I tried Garten's cosmo in 2020, I had actually compared the color to watermelon juice — which was nearly spot on.

While I loved Garten's original cosmo, I definitely prefer her new recipe. The fresh watermelon juice was such a delicious mixer for the vodka and Cointreau, bringing the sweetness and brightness that I always crave in a fun summer cocktail, and the lime juice really helped punch up the overall flavor. It was extremely refreshing — and extremely easy to drink.

I whipped up these cosmos while on a trip with my boyfriend and his family, and they were a unanimous hit.

"It's everything you want in a summer cocktail," his sister Julia said. "Definitely packs the freshness thanks to the watermelon juice, not to mention the gorgeous color — it almost looked fake it was so vibrant!"

"The perfect summer drink," our friend Becca added. "A simple, refreshing, and delicious way to kick back and enjoy days by the pool."

Warning though — these drinks go fast. I'll definitely be making Garten's watermelon cosmos again, but this time, I'm going to double the recipe.

OK, maybe triple.