Muwonge Charles — RyeCentral Lab Mixologist
Muwonge Charles
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Head bartender in Dubai, known behind the stick as Caris — seven years of balance, precision and garnish work, and a story in every glass.
Available for
Caris’s Approach Behind the Stick
Seven years in, Caris builds from four things held together: balance, quality, creativity and hospitality. He treats the classics as the foundation of the craft and keeps pushing at the edges of it — his working technique list runs shaken, stirred, built, smoked, fat-washed, batched, clarified, carbonated and infused, which is a wider range than most bars ever ask for.
The discipline underneath it is restraint. “Every ingredient should have a purpose, every garnish should add to the experience, and every cocktail should be consistent in taste, presentation, and execution,” he says. Simplicity, in his telling, is the powerful part. The rest is people — reading the guest, making them feel welcome, and sending them out with a reason to come back.
How Caris Found Rye
Caris came to rye through curiosity rather than nostalgia — wanting to understand spirits past the standard specs, push the creative side of the job, and master the fiddly presentation work: precise builds, intricate citrus garnishes, drinks that tell a visual story before anyone tastes them.
Rye earned its place on merit. Rittenhouse and Sazerac are the two he keeps closest: “best for cocktails,” he says — 100 proof, spicy and rich, and exactly right for Manhattans, Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs. Behind the bar he splits them by job: Bulleit Rye for stirred drinks, Rittenhouse when something gets shaken.
Caris’s Signature: The Journal
A shaken rye riff with sweet vermouth and super lemon
Ingredients
- 2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
- 0.75 oz sweet vermouth
- 0.5 oz Super Lemon
- 0.25 oz rich / simple syrup
Method (Caris’s words)
“Shaken hard with ice, then double strain into a chilled coupe / Nick & Nora.”
Pictured served over a large cube; the spec above is the straight-up serve.
RyeCentral Lab Tested
Caris’s Lab-Tested Cocktails
Lab-tested builds that line up with how Caris works — spirit-forward classics, precisely made. Click either to read the full guide.
Rye Old Fashioned
Smoked Old Fashioned
Free membership · Support Caris
Sign up to RyeCentral to support Caris
Free membership unlocks My Rye Profile for personalized recommendations, free home whiskey tasting events, and a $10 welcome coupon for barware, glassware, clothing & home goods. Your join also counts toward Caris unlocking his signature cocktail page in the Cocktail Station — 50 signups needed.
Help Caris hit 50
Share Caris’s link with friends
Every signup through Caris’s link counts toward unlocking his signature cocktail page in the Cocktail Station. They get the $10 welcome reward, Caris gets the credit.
Available for
Bookings · Collaborations · Consulting
Get in Touch with Caris
Booking a wedding, a tasting, a class or a brand collaboration? Drop Caris a note, or find him on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.
Email lands in Caris’s inbox directly. Allow a day or two for a reply.
In Caris’s Words
Q. What makes a good cocktail?
A good cocktail is not necessarily complicated — it’s about how well everything works together. Balance first, then quality ingredients, harmony so that nothing feels unnecessary, texture and dilution from the right shake or stir, aroma from the garnish and the glass, and presentation that supports the drink rather than distracting from it. And for a signature like The Journal, a story the guest takes away with them.
Q. Why do you do what you do?
I do what I do because bartending gives me the opportunity to turn simple ingredients into an experience. I enjoy the creativity, the precision, and most importantly, the connection with people. Every shift teaches me something new — about spirits, cocktails, hospitality, and myself. I’m motivated by the idea that a drink I create can become part of someone’s memory.
Community Reviews
Worked with Caris? Tell us how it went.
Had Caris make you a drink, booked him for an event, or built The Journal at home? Leave a rating and review — verified RyeCentral Lab entries are tagged.
Reviews powered by Judge.me · All RyeCentral reviews moderated
What Caris Brings Behind the Stick
- Balance first — sweet, sour, bitter and strong complementing, never overpowering
- Quality spirits, fresh citrus and properly made house ingredients
- Every ingredient with a purpose; nothing in the glass for decoration alone
- Texture and dilution treated as part of the recipe, not an afterthought
- Nine techniques in rotation — shaken, stirred, built, smoked, fat-washed, batched, clarified, carbonated, infused
- Garnish and glassware worked as aroma and first impression, not just looks
Caris’s Mission Behind the Bar
Caris starts from the guest rather than the glass: read the person, make them feel welcome, and send them off with something worth remembering. The cocktail is how he gets there — balanced, precisely made, finished so it looks intentional. “A drink I create can become part of someone’s memory” is the whole job, in his words, and the craft sits in service of it.
Here’s to your and Caris’s next Rye discovery! 🍾
Explore the rye reviews and cocktail builds Caris is pulling from
Browse All Rye Whiskey ReviewsGo deeper on RyeCentral
See how the bottles Caris pours score in our rye whiskey reviews and expert ratings.
Choosing a bottle for his builds? Start with our rye whiskey buying guides.
Meet the rest of the roster in the mixologist directory, or learn how to become a freelance mixologist.
Profile compiled from Caris’s application · RyeCentral Lab Mixologists Program
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