I don’t see an argument against the social merit of alcohol here. I dated an enabler who knew that alcohol helped ease my social anxiety around strangers. She told me we’d get a couple of drinks into me at the bar when going to office parties. It worked. Made me very sociable.
I’m genuinely curious how you define sociability of a drug or substance. I know alcohol is detrimental to society at large. On an individual basis, I find it quite attractive for social gatherings.
Calling alcohol social feels like an evil marketing gimmick - certainly our advertising pretends it is social.
Alcohol is deeply socially destructive - we know the stereotypical examples of damage in the the poor and the indigenous communities. The examples of damage in middle-class homes of the wealthy (e.g. doctors) and the average working class (tradies and nurses) is much less visible.
We're very far apart on this issue. I feel like you must not drink socially, so you're not exposed to the milder effects of alcohol. Alcohol enables both social and anti-social behavior. It doesn't have to be black and white.
By your definition ecstasy is a social drug or any drug at a rave is social (Note I have never seen MDMA turn anti-social).
In my experience most drugs are “social” - the heroin users I knew were a tight crowd! Weed is definitely social for those that partake.
Serve cocaine, MDMA and meth at a wedding and everybody will have a social blast too.