DaasYochid : Doesn’t the Mishna Brura hold one can use whiskey l’chatchila if one likes it better but needs a reviis and drink a melo lugmav?
Wine was scarce, making whiskey chamar medinah at the time, in that location (he says bimdinaseynu).
It would seem, though, that nowadays in the countries we live in, we don’t have chamar medinah according to the M”B’s definition. According to R’ Moshe’s definition, we do.