I could get away with moderating once, maybe twice but then it would leap up and bite me on the butt again.
Is it cutting down you're referring to or tapering? Tapering worked for me, but only after i'd got to the point where I was terrified of withdrawals and was of the mindset that I detested alcohol by then. The fear of withdrawals overcame the 'nice' effects of the alcohol. Took me a while to get to that point though.
to the forums by the way