Well I guess you have to ask yourself; was he a friend who you drank with, or was he a drinking buddy that you did some friend stuff with.
I'm not sure if there's a difference but as a noob here myself one of the first things I had/have to reconcile myself with is some people won't be happy that I have quit drinking. They aren't my friends. They're drinking buddies. The people I have a blast with sober and don't like me when I drink because I'm a different person are my friends, because they like me for me.