I recently tried the 'limiting drink experiment'. It didn't work. Everything snowballed and now I have many problems to deal with.
I don't know if this will help you but something that I have hopefully at last understood is that although in the past I have put the drink down for months at a time, I am still full of the ISM part of alcoholISM. Anger, resentment, self centerdness, pride, fear, insecurity etc etc. How I learn to deal with that will, I feel, determine if I can stay sober. If I don't I will drink again. I'll find an excuse.
Additionally, I don't think that I appreciate just how intense my feelings are much of the time. It is as if I normalize them, or push them to one side. My moods have gone up and down for as long as I can remember and when I'm particularly upset about something I can literally go around my house shouting at the people with whom I am angry. There's no one there, they're in my mind! I can have arguments with them until I calm down sufficiently. I used to be much worse than I am now and my head would be bursting with negativity.
My current aim is to stay sober, sure. But also to find ways of dealing with my emotions.
Hope that helps. It helped me just to write it!