SOPHISTICATED and smooth.

David Cottrell has matured to perfection - just like the whisky inside a special bottle his family had commissioned to celebrate his 60th birthday.

A lover of all things Scottish, especially single malt whisky, David was overwhelmed when he was presented with the hand-made, inscribed bottle bearing his name and family coat of arms on Sunday.

The bottle, kiln-fired in Scotland and coated once in black and then in nine carat gold, is a one-off. It was wife Margaret's idea. She admits she was struggling to come up with something original to celebrate his birthday.

"We love Scotland and go several times a year and David enjoys a nice single malt whisky now and again," she said.

"I didn't know what to buy him and I remember my niece Jayne, who owns a printing firm, getting a load of whisky with the company's name printed on it for promotions.

"That's when the idea came to me to get David his own bottle done.

"My daughter Rachel and I researched into our family coat of arms and sent a picture of it to my niece who then sent it to her designer.

The couple's son, Asher, is a joiner and helped with the finishing touches by creating a cask for the bottle.

David was also given 12 matching tumblers, six wine glasses and a handmade decanter.