Print Any Image You Want on a Cocktail at Cochino Taco Edgewater

"I'm bringing my irreverence back to my restaurants. I like to have fun," says Johnny Ballen, owner of Cochino Taco, which has three locations — in Englewood, Arvada and Edgewater — where guests can experience his latest fun find.

"I was out in L.A. — I had just gotten sworn in as a Croatian citizen — and I went out to dinner," Ballen recalls. "I ordered a pisco sour and the server said, 'For an extra $1, you can put any image on top of your cocktail.' I gave him my business card and asked if he could print the pig head logo."

When the drink arrived topped with that pig head, he says, "It was like, wow, it's so damn detailed. I think I need to get one of these."

And that's exactly what he did.

Ballen was known for bringing quirky touches to the now-closed Squeaky Bean. In 2016, he introduced Cochino Taco, which has a menu filled with items that seem right out of a stoner's dream cooking session (though Ballen himself doesn't partake, he notes). For instance, the Evil Cheetos, aka a dish of pork rinds sprinkled with cheese powder and served with jalapeño vinegar for dipping. The nachos are made with Doritos, and the queso-smothered burger is a messy-in-a-good-way concoction loaded with roasted poblano chile strips and crispy fried jalapeños.
Cochino Taco also has one of the longest happy hours in town, running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and all day on Sundays, with specials that include a pair of crunchy tacos for $6, queso for $7 and a coin-style margarita for $8.

Along with the new drink machine, Ballen has brought an old favorite from the Squeaky Bean back to Cochino Edgewater, the latest restaurant in his lineup: Bingo Brunch, complete with the same bingo board that used to hang in the Bean's dining room. It takes place every Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. and is hosted by Venus Anne Sexton. Specials include bottomless mimosas, $5 house margaritas, brunch eats and prizes.

The first edition of Bingo Brunch at Cochino Edgewater took place on November 19 and was a hit, Ballen says, but even more buzzy are the custom drink images. "Customers are having a lot of fun with it," he notes. "The number-one print so far is people's dogs."
Because the machine prints best on foamy cocktails, Ballen and his team have created a special tequila sour for the new addition. The egg white in the drink creates an ideal surface for the printing. (The bar can shake one up using garbanzo bean juice as a substitute for anyone with an egg allergy.)

For $12, you get the cocktail, made with your choice of Cochino's exclusive select barrel tequilas. To add an image, you simply scan a QR code that sends your pick directly to the bar, where it's added to a queue. The image is then printed using red cabbage extract as the "ink."

"We can do anything with it," Ballen says. "For events like bachelorette parties, whatever they want on there, we'll do it."

He's experimenting with other cocktails that can be printed, like an espresso martini and Mexican coffee, and he's already planning to get machines for the Englewood and Arvada locations as well.

For now, though, Edgewater is the place to go if you want to print your dog, yourself or maybe something more risqué on a boozy beverage.

Cochino Taco Edgewater is located at 5495 West 20th Avenue and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit cochinotaco.com.