My xAH said the same and still does (that he drank ONLY when with me as coping mechanism) but when pressed by the co parenting counselor we have to see together, he admitted he began drinking excessively in college and she then smugly asked him if he knew me in college (which he did not).
In my estimation, someone who needs to profess loudly how they aren't an alcoholic is someone who is guilty of protesting a bit too hard...
Your AH is as full of it as mine. The same man who has claimed he was sober each time we separated, is the same person who I found had a flask hidden under our daughters car seat.
Your AH is no more sober than my xAH is. He wants you to take the bait and debate it with him. Just ignore it altogether. Don't feed into his craziness. He wants you to feel it is and was all you and that now that you're apart he is fine. It's total and utter BS.
People who don't have drinking problems don't go around debating whether they are an alcoholic. Only alcoholics do that.