Made for and inspired by the travellers of the world, Johnnie Walker has announced a new series: The Johnnie Walker Explorer’s Club Collection. The first limited bottling, cryptically entitled “The Spice Road,” will be available with a suggested retail price of $43 USD and is slated for release in duty-free stores in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia in December. The rest of the world’s duty free shops will have to wait until January 2013. [PR Newswire]

The Astor Center in NYC will be hosting a whisky auction for Hurricane Sandy relief on Sunday, December 2^nd from 4 to 6PM. For $25 you can enjoy pre-auction tastings and bid on other items in a silent format. 100% of all auction proceeds will go to the Tunnel To Towers Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. Click the link for a complete list of auctioned items and to purchase tickets. [Astor Center]

In new distillery news, the Dingle Whiskey Distillery is slated to open its doors this week in the Dingle region of Ireland. The distillery plans on producing whisky, gin, and vodka by 2013. [Drinks Business Review]

And finally, in a move anyone with an eye for beauty can approve of, Penelope Cruz has been selected as the model for the 2013 Campari calendar. You can view the full photo shoot right here, in case you’re one of the folks who aren’t lucky enough to score a copy. [NY Daily News]

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