Here's a thought experiment to try, not advocating for you to recreate this situation . Since you mentioned the only vodka( ?) is a problem, what does the memory of the experience of the third shot feel like? You said the first seemed to almost always lead to 5 or 6 and more, what did the third one do for your desire for more? For me that the defining thing, that itch a certain amount of alcohol would ignite. Fighting off the temptation to quell the itch , meaning drinking with little or no abandon, was doable at times. But it was always a battle and I didn't fight so hard, especially late in my drinking career. If you 'get' what I mean about the itch , the physical aspect of the craving for more, for me that is alcoholism. And for me wine, vodka, beer, whatever form the alcohols in has the potential to ignite the itch.
Binge drinking, drinking through hangovers, daily maintenance between progressively closer together binge sessions were consequences of constantly flirting with the itch. Add the anxiety, depression, mental and physical stresses of living with that seemingly never ending cycle(s) make for a less than happy life, and when removed from the picture make a way better starting point to build a happier life.
You don't Have to drink, nobody does. If you can identify an itch, you probably shouldn't. My 2 cents