MALTON is in good spirits after a new establishment specialising in single malt whisky, assorted gins and craft beers opened in Market Street.

McMillans of Malton is the latest in a number of shops which are forming part of Malton's resurgence as "the food and drink capital" of Yorkshire.

Owner Jim McMillan, a former teacher who also runs the Hunmanby Pantry delicatessen, said that there was a gap in the local market for quality spirits.

"We felt there's lots of nice shops around doing some fine wines, a good wholesalers, and people doing little bits of everything, but we just thought this was a niche in the market; nice gins, single malt whiskys and craft beers all in the one place," he said.

"Malton is coming up. The food fairs, the great local butchers, the Yard, we thought this was the right place. It just seemed to fit in."

The shop, which has opened in the unit which formerly housed the HandyMag offices, features a range of Speyside, highland, Islay and lowland malts with a number of "cask finishes", as well as various gins and beer from local brewers such as Bad Seed in Malton.

Mr McMillan added that interest had been high in the first week.

"We've had lots of people coming in, and we've had good support from lots of local traders. We feel it's in the right place," he said.

"There's a big market in malt whisky - we're offering single cask malts, medium to high-range. There's a market for that; people enjoy a good single malt."