Selective excitation of whispering-gallery and bottle modes in a robust hollow-bottle optical microresonator, fabricated from a silica microcapillary by a pressure-compensated, "soften-and-compress" method, is demonstrated. Characteristic resonance spectra of bottle modes were obtained by using a tapered fiber coupled at different locations along the hollow bottle. The spectral characteristics (Q-factor, excitation efficiency) are shown to have high tolerance to angular misalignment of the tapered fiber. In addition, introduction of localized losses on the outer surface of the resonator results in selective clean-up of the transmission spectrum and superior performance. A theoretical analysis of modal turning points and associated resonant wavelengths is used to explain the mechanism of mode-suppression and the resultant spectral cleaning.