Kate and Will savour

THE ROYAL couple were given a traditional welcome to Scotland as they enjoyed a cheeky dram.

William and Kate officially opened the new-look Famous Grouse Experience attraction, which has recently undergone a £250,000 overhaul.

During a private tour of the Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, the earl and countess sampled some of the products.

Roving dram molier Lucy Whitehall and master blender Colin Motion took the couple through the different varieties.

Kate dubbed the Snow Goose “the girly one”, while William tried the strongest blend, joking that he “might regret it later”.

General manager of the Famous Grouse Experience, Stuart Cassells, then presented them with their own personalised bottle and a cuddly grouse for Prince George, which caused great hilarity when Kate shook it and realised it made a noise.

He then led them to the new bottling area, where the earl carefully filled his own bottle which will be presented to the Tayside Mountain Rescue Team.

Following this, the royal couple attended a civic reception hosted by Perth and Kinross Provost Elizabeth Grant.

They were then presented with an ancient map of Strathearn by Mike Robinson from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, while William was bestowed with a very special title.

Chairman of Crieff Highland Games, Colin Crawford, officially unveiled the earl as the royal chieftain of the event and handed over the traditional blue bonnet worn as part of the role.

Invited guests also enjoyed a unique treat, as local firm Wild Thyme created a pie especially for the royal visit, which William and Kate polished off heading to their next engagement at Forteviot.

Mr Cassells described the day as “an absolute pleasure”.

“With such strong links to this area through their Scottish titles, we couldn’t think of anyone more perfectly placed to open our new-look visitor areas,” he added.

Picture: Getty Images. The countess at the whisky sampling.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Well-wishers turn out to welcome the earl and countess to Crieff.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. The Earl and Countess of Strathearn enjoy a dram at the new-look Famous Grouse Experience.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Kate and William receive an insight into the distilling process from Glenturret Distillery production manager Neil Cameron.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Kate and William with shop stock controller Andrew Sveistrop. The earl was about to fill a bottle of whisky that will be raffled off later.