PAA, shkoyach.
Your welcome.
How davka do we need to imitate the nes? How old was the wine? Was it white or red? Dry or sweet? Which grape variety?
Exactly. So it would be arbitrary to extend it to whiskey but not LSD. Now it might also be arbitrary to extend it from Puglia Malvasia to Cream Red Concorde. Although I have an easier time categorizing all wine in the same category than all mind-alterers in the same category.
Interesting p’shatim. (I still don’t see a raya from the lashon of the rishonim.)
True, none of them explicitly say that you’re not yotzei with other forms of alcohol, but if you agree with http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/for-pulsing-flower-to-rant-about-iyun/page/2#post-523393 then you have to ask yourself why Rashi (and others) added the word ????. And the raya from the Radvaz seems pretty shtark, though that obviously doesn’t speak for the rishonim.
I heard a third p’shat, that Achasveirosh used ????? ???? and it failed, b’derech nes, with Esther.
Do you remember where you heard that?
Anyhow, I know of big people who used whiskey or gave it out for the mitzvah, but I guess there is a hiddur in using wine.
Well there are other rishonim who don’t mention wine.