Here in Australia 18 is the legal drinking age...and it is also the age you can get your licence.
I remember drinking when I was 16...in fact the parties at 16,17 & 18 were always huge and featured alcohol. At my friends 18th (I was still 17) I drank 3/4 a bottle of vodka....man I dont think I could hold alcohol like that anymore!!
Modify: BTW I do not recommend drinking that much to anyone...it was not a nice experience and I made a complete fool of myself

I think as long as you have a couple of drinks there really is not any harm, all teenagers do it these days...speaking from an Australian point of view of course.