
That's just ice water in the glass, BTW. As a general rule, I don't drink alcohol during the day (maybe an occasional beer or glass of wine with a meal on weekends), I'm out of clear spirits at the moment and I wouldn't waste them on a photo session anyway.
If you read the blog, I'm trying to flesh out the "back story" a bit more and give you a bit of insight into the society and culture of Claire's home country. Hopefully, before too long, you'll understand why they are considered a "pariah state" and maybe even learn to hate them as much as most of the rest of the world does!

@ Dee Dee: Yes, Claire's home country is named after a famous hill in your home town. So is the neighboring country to the west.