Well, this will be no big surprise, but there are probably a lot of us here that are "that" person. I guess how I will answer your question is by telling you what I did and then some other options.
I myself didn't step into a bar that was only a bar (no good reason to be there unless to get a buzz) until I was about 5 or 6 months sober. The only reason I went was to be social as there was a birthday paty and I went with my girlfriend to make an appearance and then left before it got to the time where people had more than a few drinks in them. Now I am comfortable going to a bar, if need be, and it really doesn't bother me. I have gotten to the point that whether a drink be an arms length away or a 30 minute drive if I decide to drink I am going to do so.
As all of us here seek help at a different point, so you may not need to stay away for 6 months, or you may need to stay away longer. There are other options that you may use if you feel it is necessary to go out with your colleagues. You could tell someone at your work your situation that you feel comfortable telling and bring them with you and just drink a soda/tonic with a lime in it and no one will know. Another option is to only go here and there and always make sure you drive and do the same with the soda/tonic. Lastly depending on what you believe you can handle, you could drink something NA (this doesn't work well IMHO).
I hope some of this helps as I know one of the hardest things I deal with is not interacting with some of the good people out there that can control their drinking. I have gotten comfortable with not drinking and am more than happy to drop the toxic people from my life, but there are still quite a few people that are great people but like to tip the bottle here and there. Good luck!