The term "alcoholic" is thrown about in far to cavalier a manner in today's society. See also: retard, psycho, etc.
It does a real disservice to the people who actually suffer from the disease.
Alcoholism is a very real and very serious disease which has absolutely nothing to do with your level of consumption. It also has nothing to do with how you react to the effects of alcohol either.
An alcoholic who remains sober is still an alcoholic and always will be.
A drunk who becomes violent is simply a jack@$$, not necessarily an alcoholic.
Alcoholism is indeed characterized by a mental and/or physical dependance upon alcohol to the exclusion of other priorities. However, that is not the only symptom nor is it a causal factor. Note that many alcoholics are dependent upon other drugs, both legal and illegal, other than alcohol. It might be fair to say that they have an addiction to addiction or are in some way predisposed mentally or physically to abusing any drug regardless of what it may be.
The truth is that medical science does not fully understand the disease, what causes it or what the risk factors are. There are trends that it can be hereditary in some cases but there is no conclusive evidence to that.
Bottom line is, it is unfair to label drinkers (even heavy ones) as alcoholics both to those who consume alcohol (about 88% of Americans over the age of 21) and to those who suffer from alcoholism. To refer to my original statement, is it fair to those who suffer from mental retardation to use the word "retard" insultingly towards a clearly non-retarded person? That's rhetorical, BTW.
To answer the OP's question, I am not an alcoholic.
I am statistically in the top 15% of Americans in terms of consumption.
However, those who would link consumption rate to alcoholism are ignorant and they disgrace themselves by it. They also likely have an agenda to meet (read: neo-prohibitionism) which makes it even more despicable that they use this tragic disease as a soapbox.
If you are worried that you may be an alcoholic, that likely means that you are not one. Denial is a more common symptom but certainly not the only reaction. If you are concerned, you should seek medical advice. A general therapist may be the best option at first since they are usually confidential and have a wide number of contacts that can provide additional support.
But again, knocking back a few, even to enjoy the buzz, is not necessarily alcoholism and it should never be accused as such.