My brother drank excessively for years.... and did drugs... and smoked.

I never smoked and never drank excessively. Why the difference? *shrug* It just may BE we got a slightly different set of genes.

He went to AA and took up religion semi-seriously. (My opinion is that he needed to 'believe' in order to justify abstaining... but I can't read minds.)
He is 70 now, and has been relatively clean of all that stuff for 10 years.

Me? I drink Scotch, (good) beer, wine, liqueurs, ...and very occasionally, gin, vodka, cider, and several other exotic things.... except that it may be days or even weeks between tastes. A 6-pack of beer may last a month... or a week.

I take NO credit for my good luck.... I just never did enjoy being drunk.. (maybe 3-4 times in my life was I legally drunk, and that was 40 years ago or more.)

So.... the answer I hear most from individuals who DO have the problem is that it requires almost total abstinence... no matter how you get there.

Best wishes......