I would absolutely drink if I weren't an alcoholic for some of the same reasons I wish I still could. Socializing primarily. I'm 39 and been single for a while. And every single woman wants to get to know each other over drinks, not coffee. And I'm not at the stage where I can do that because I would almost certainly cave in and join her for a drink. A coworker is having a BBQ this weekend for family and friends where I know basically everybody will be drinking beer. I'll likely skip it, though I want to go.
So hell yeah, if I wasn't an alcoholic, I would 100% drink socially.