But the director of Liquid Plastics has found a good reaction out of his 'hobby' of combining alcohol with gold and now his creation is being tasted in some of the country's best restaurants.

Oro, a cava packed with gold leaf, has been turning heads at Gordon Ramsay's Claridge's eatery in London and won rave reviews from wine-tasting expert Malcolm Gluck.

Now, he is looking to get it on the shelves at some of the leading supermarkets in the country.

Phil said: "We are talking to Waitrose, Sainsbury's and been contacted by Booths about stocking it and I personally would love to see it up in the North.

"So far we have been focusing on restaurants in the south but I think the market for this is just phenomenal not only in the UK but across the world.

"We have had interest from Hong Kong, where they are really big on bling, and the Middle East and there is more coming every day."

He said the drink had followed an exhaustive search for the "ultimate party drink."

The search was finally over with the discovery of an estate-bottled cava at organic vineyards in the Alt Penedès region of Northern Spain.
The drink which is being sold by his RNR Drinks business is made from pressed grapes before being infused with edible gold leaf.

In his review, Mr Gluck said: "I have spent nearly 20 years writing and commentating on wines from around the world and, in all that time, I have never experienced anything quite like Oro.

"It is great to experiment with something different, why be fuddy-duddy and old fashioned?"