My first character ever was in 2e and I don't really remember him except that he was a dwarf rogue with a crossbow, inspired I think by my favorite character choice in HeroQuest, which I'd played for years before discovering DnD.
My first memorable character was Taran, Half-Elf Cleric of Moradin. My DM let me use a longsword because elf, and I made healing potions rather than casting Cure X Wounds like normal, because the DM thought my idea was cool and didn't care about the rules. I threw them at people to heal them.
Taran was in his early 20's, spoke better Dwarven than Elven but had trained extensively in the longsword with an elf that was an exile from the same kingdom Taran's father was a Lord of. Taran's father was an elf who had tried to have Taran and his mother killed when he found out that Taran was unmistakably his bastard. I ended up multiclassing fighter even though i knew I'd be more powerful as a pure cleric, because it just made sense after the party was waylaid by Taran's father and his men, and barely made it out alive. Taran wanted to be the one to drive a sword into the bastard's heart.
Today, I'd probably either build him as a Vengeance or Crown Paladin with Ritual Casting: Cleric, or I might repeat the Cleric/Fighter MC, go War Cleric, Battlemaster Fighter with Great Weapon Master since Taran fought with the longsword in two hands, and make a deadly swordfighter with a deep devotion to Moradin and the Dwarven hold that helped raise him and sheltered him and his mother. The whole throwing bottles of healing at people thing I'd probably just drop, or reflavor Healing Word as that.
A really interesting thing, though...might be to bend the character's story a little and use Bladesinger Wizard instead of Fighter. I have no problem with only taking spells that support my character concept, so I'd just not take spells that are "just better" that going into melee. Forget that, mirror image, bladesong up, spirit guardians up, whip that sword around in the style of the elves and someday drive it into his father's heart after besting him at his oh so sacred elven tradition.