[8] Newer drinks have included the B&R, a blend of rye, Bonal, triple sec, orange and Angostura bitters; the Stiff Handshake cocktail, which has bonded bourbon, dry vermouth, triple sec, Maraschino, and decanter bitters;[9] and Don't Give Up the Ship, which has gin, Dubonnet, Grand Marnier, and Fernet-Branca.

[3] The Charm Offensive has Irish whiskey, Jamaican rum, Carpano bianco vermouth, Green Chartreuse, and chocolate bitters, and the Saipan Sling has bourbon, Braulio, sherry, and an orange cordial.

[10] The bar also helped popularize the classic cocktail Corn'n'Oil, which includes rum, falernum, lime juice, and Angostura bitters.

The original owners hired Ben Dougherty and Kacy Fitch as bar managers, and to lead the design and build a credible cocktail program.

[16] Soon after being offered at Zig Zag, it became somewhat of cult hit in the Seattle and Portland areas and spread to cocktail bars in major cities worldwide.

[21][22] He was such a part of Zig Zag that a Seattle Weekly editor visited the bar after Stenson's departure, to examine whether the business could survive.

The editor, Mike Seely, reported that Zig Zag remained experimental and that the lead bartender and his team are "pretty goddamn great at what they do".

[23] In July 2012, Dougherty had a falling out with Kacy Fitch and bought out his ownership stake, thus becoming the sole owner of Zig Zag.

"[3] Allecia Vermillion, writing for Seattle Metropolitan in 2014, opined that the bar's "cocktail credibility is unimpeachable", and that its bartenders can "turn on a dime" to give guests drinks that suit their mood.