I tried moderation and tapering many times before I finally stopped. I found that most of the time it had a rebound effect where I I'd drink even more for a few days following. I remember when I was trying to quit smoking - back in the late 1990's - the mantra then was even if you can't, keep trying to quit because you need to practice for the day you really quit. And then one day, it happened.
Never smoking again was easy to accept. Never drinking again - now that was hard to swallow.