I've found great freedom in acceptance. I accept who I am. I accept my relationship with alcohol. I can either enjoy my alcohol or control it. Never both. The only relationship with alcohol that I can live with is abstinence. Nothing less.
On the topic of social drinking...why? What would you get out of it? Don't you think that attempting to drink socially will distract you from, well, socializing? I know I'd become preoccupied with how much I'd drank, how much more I should drink, how much I want to drink, what people are thinking about my drinking...well, you get it.
So what about not drinking? Well, I may feel a little bit different. Like, what's so wrong with me that I'm not allowed to drink? Well...I'm an alcoholic. So, I can either accept that I suck at drinking or I can try to throw my willpower and sanity against what I know to be an immutable fact. I fought it for a long time. I accept it now. It's not defeat because I certainly haven't lost anything worth having. Instead, I've gained confidence, purpose and serenity.