I was 17 when I knew I had a real problem with alcohol, but I didn't care.. I thought I was real cool! Life of the party chic! I still got good grades and graduated college somehow binge drinking maybe 3-4 times a week.
Somewhere around 25-27, was my first attempt to really try to quit. Too many bad things were happening and I was finally starting to realize how I was potentially messing up my life. Even tried AA. It worked for a whole month.
I SO WISH I HAD QUIT WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE. It did progress, but in waves depending on what was going on in life.. Like you, I tried all the methods of cutting back, changing up type of alcohol, only on certain days, etc.
Wishing you the best