Chuck
So far as I've ever seen, we all have our own little tricks to handle, hide, deal with our drinking. Some only drink at home, others only drink "out," for some it's only beer, for others, just wine. The list of "techniques" to try to drink successfully could probably be expanded for many pages here.
Eventually, you either tone it down or the consequences begin. For me, they were legal and emotional. The legal stuff was bad enough, but worse was how I felt about myself. I really started to hate myself. When your drinking and your lifestyle becomes something that you don't agree with any longer.....many people straighten themselves out. I wasn't able to do that. I mean, I thought I should be able to pull it off.....I wanted to.....but I couldn't seem to make it happen in reality.
AA was a massively big help in that regard.