“whether or not you could be yotzai with whiskey.”
Just because you could, doesnt mean you should. Whiskey does not mean you can not or are not yotsai if you drink wine.
As for Rav Elya Svei Z’l, I dont think any of his talmidim are the bachurim who are the subject of these ads. The current Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia is pretty clear where he stands on the matter of drinking on Purim.