Our very own Mike Filigenzi was featured on an article in a series on Examiner.com:
It’s a fascinating question, one that is often asked---right behind the unanswerable “What’s your favorite spirit?”---and one that requires a little thinking: If you had to limit your available spirits to one case, 12 bottles, which 12 would you choose?
The answers, it turns out, are always different. And the choices reveal much about the people making them.
The ‘rules’ were simple: Only 12 bottles, any spirits you wish, and they don’t have to include bitters (they’re small, so they’ll fit in to your case anyway, and we didn’t want to make it too difficult). You can think of it as your “marooned on a desert island” or “basic home bar” or simply the spirits that are most essential to you personally.
Mike Filigenzi is an affable and easy-going guy from Northern California with a well developed palate. He maintains, with a disarming smile, that he’s simply a guy who likes to put anything that tastes good into his mouth, given his passion for food, wine and cocktails. What he doesn’t bother to tell you about is his fine tuned palate and his frequent presence on several wine and food internet forums, where he is acknowledged as a wise advisor with significant experience. He lives in Sacramento with his wife and two daughters.
Here’s Mike’s contribution to 12 Bottle Case:
"This is a great little exercise. It made me think. It will be interesting to see what other responses you get to this, from both the pros and the dedicated amateurs such as myself.
Here's what I've come up with. It reflects what I've tried and liked over the years as well as the fact that I rarely sip neat spirits - they're pretty much always mixed into cocktails.
Gin: Tanqueray
Rye: Rittenhouse Bonded and Willett Single Barrel
Bourbon: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon
Rum: Havana Club 15 Años and Lemon Hart Demerara
Tequila: Orendain Anniversario Extra-Añejo 8yo
Cognac: Camus XO (This is the one that I would not mix!)
Liqueurs: Cointreau, Luxardo Maraschino, Campari
Vermouth: Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth
Also rans: Fernet Branca, Dolin dry Vermouth.
One other note: If my wife is stranded with me, then the Willett Rye gets switched to Courvoisier VSOP for the Brandy Manhattans. [Mike’s wife is originally from Wisconsin, where they drink a lot of brandy---so much so that unless you specify when ordering a Manhattan or Old Fashioned, you’ll probably get a brandy version.]"
Mike’s preference for mixed drinks and cocktails is pretty obvious, what with picking very mixable spirits and then putting in three liqueurs and a vermouth to round out the twelve. Even better were he allowed to sneak in the Fernet Branca and Dolin Vermouth, but of course he would never break the rules! All in all, a well-selected 12 bottle case.