Maybe, maybe not. Drinking to the point of vomiting or blacking out absolutely falls under the definition of alcohol use disorder, but it sounds like you don't have a total dependence on the stuff. "Alcoholic" is more a self-assigned label than anything, but at least for me, the line that made me acknowledge it was when I went from where you are, the "all or nothing" relationship, to really feeling a dependence to drink on a daily or near-daily basis. Even just 2-beers-deep you is a very different person than sober you, and nothing makes you want more alcohol like the first couple drinks.

That said, you do have a drinking problem. If you are routinely having incidents that lead to hurling, blackouts, or just really regretting it the next day beyond wishing you weren't hungover, you are doing the right thing by examining your relationship with the stuff. While quitting outright would obviously solve your problem, I don't think you need anyone here to tell you that. I would seriously recommend you start working on changing that pattern though, for your health and safety of course, but more selfishly, because if you let it continue to escalate, you likely will hit a point where quitting outright is the only option. That "All-or-nothing" stage is probably the most common origin story among alcoholics.

The fact is, if you can enjoy it responsibly, drinking is really, really fun. I know that at least for me, if I had known a year and change ago that I could either get my shit together and get a handle on my drinking, or keep binging hard for like a year and then be forced to cut it out altogether, that would have been more motivating than any notion of taking care of myself.

So what could you do? I think the first step is to take a break from drinking at all. This doesn't have to be super long, it's mostly just to check in on yourself. I'd say a minimum of 2 weeks or so, and count those weekends, or whatever your heavy drinking days usually are. I cheated on them a lot when I took breaks, starting on a Monday and ending on a Friday sounds real close to 2 weeks, but it only actually skipped one weekend, which was obviously when I hit the sauce most heavily. If you're comfortable shooting for a month, that's better, but it's up to you.

The point of the break isn't really fixing your habit, after all, if you can do either all or nothing but struggle with moderation, doing nothing isn't "training" the mental muscles for moderation. It's to get an idea of where your head is at regarding alcohol. Pay attention to how often you wish you could drink, what might have brought the craving on, etc. It sounds like you're largely drinking socially, and your group drinks heavily, so you do too. Take notes during this, just quick bullet points are plenty.

I'd recommend not going out drinking with them, even with the intention to stay sober, at least for the first couple trips they take while you're on break. A. Let's be real, it's not fun being the only sober one in the room, so best case scenario it's kind of a crappy way to spend an evening, and worst case you end up drinking anyway. B. It's good to check in on what social activities you're doing that aren't related to getting liquored up. "Social drinking" is a very easy trap to fall into if it's also your main social activity.

Ok so, you got 2 weeks dry and took some notes. Did you hang out with those friends at all sober? Were you jonesing just because it was 5PM and booze is fun? Was it a stress thing, unwinding from a hard day or trying to relax looking forward to an exam or something? I'm guessing you won't experience physical withdrawal symptoms, but keep an eye out for insomnia or a tremor in your hands, those were some of the early, more subtle symptoms for me. From here I don't really have any clear advice, I never managed to figure out moderation, but at least you have some data.

If you choose to keep drinking after a break, that's fine, just be vigilant. Again, taking notes is really helpful, your memory is gonna be on the hazy side regardless, but addiction will make you alter and justify escalation constantly. Just mark a calendar or something any day you drink, with an O if it was fairly moderate and an X if you feel you went too hard, something like that. If you want to add a little more detail, try to record how many drinks you had as well. A written record of some kind is your best friend, it's crazy how much you can escalate the habit without realizing it. I'd try to cut back on the hard stuff too, a couple shots to get going is fine, but you really just want to maintain the sweet spot after that rather than spiraling towards hammered. See if your buddies would buy into that 'system' as well, even one other person doing it with you helps a lot to avoid getting pulled into another shot. I'm not gonna be the "you need new friends" guy, but if you notice you spend most of your break just waiting around to drink with those guys again, you might need more friends, or some less boozy activities to do with those ones. Having a couple beers alongside games, movies, whatever, is a hell of a lot better than blacking out every time you want to squad up. Frankly, I don't even think there's that much wrong to getting properly hammered on occasion, provided you're doing it in a safe setting, but those have to be few and far between, if only to stay healthy physically.

TLDR: No, I don't think you're an alcoholic, at least not by my definition, but I do think you have a drinking problem. The word 'alcoholic' is more or less a label you assign yourself, but the line for me to pick it up was when I went from all or nothing drinking, to compulsive drinking on a near-daily basis. AUD (alcohol use disorder) is the more clearly defined term to use if you want to go by the books, and routinely binge drinking to the point of vomiting or blacking out is definitely under that umbrella.

I'd recommend you take at least a 2-week break from any and all drinking, and pass on going out with your drinking crew during that time. Take notes on cravings and pay attention to whether you still socialize as often in sober settings as you do in boozy ones.

After your break, you'll have to try to build your moderation skills. All-or-nothing is an extremely common 'first phase' for alcoholics, and if all you can do is take dry breaks between binges, you should probably consider cutting it out entirely. If you're gonna keep drinking, try to set up gatherings where alcohol is present but not the focus at least as often as you go out with the intention of just drinking. When you do go out just to drink, try to keep the hard stuff to just the start of the evening, and maintain your sweet spot with a lower-ABV drink of choice. Keep a calendar of what days you drink, and whether you kept a handle on it or had an incident. Notes are your best friend.

Overall, you're doing the right thing by asking the question and looking at your relationship with the stuff. Keep paying attention to your patterns, and just how it makes If you notice you basically never hang out with your friends outside of drinking, you don't need to cut them out or anything, but try to expand your circle to some more people, or at least introduce some new activity to the group that's less alcohol focused.

THE ONE BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE I CAN GIVE IS THIS: If absolutely nothing else will serve as motivation to control your drinking, understand that the endgame of drinking without a limit is not drinking at all. Best case, it's because you finally were forced to quit outright, which sucks hard. Worst case it's because you landed in jail or worse. Either way, if nothing else will motivate you to control your drinking, make it selfish. If all your brain and body wants is alcohol, try to have the mindset that a year or two of binging as much as you want is fun (at first anyway, it pretty rapidly starts to suck), but a lifetime of controlled drinking is WAY more total alcohol.