That is what the Quart and Pint are for that I also got from him

I think right there is your reason your's was not harsh like a meade would be if it was not aged...mountainhippie said:We made some pretty fancy stuff out of maple syrup once. It was 1 gallon syrup, 4 gallons water, a little yeast nutrient and champagne yeast. We called it "Uncle Jemimah's Fine Malt Liquor" after the SNL sketch. Wasn't much sugar left in it when it was done, packed a pretty good punch but was really pretty good tasting too. And it didn't take a year to make drinkable, either. A couple months, tops.
Why are you using 10?mountainhippie said:I usually make a straight, simple mead. 12 pounds honey, 4 gallons water, 10 Campden tablets crushed up and mixed in to decontaminate and left for 36 hours. Then just 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient and pitch champagne yeast. Primary takes 2-3 weeks, I leave it in secondary about the same time, then isinglass for a week prime and bottle.
The one thing I can stress for ANY honey recipe, is to use the sulfite tablets instead of heat. You'll see recipes from time to time that say boiling the honey won't change the flavor, or they'll have some half-heat "pasteurization" process they recommend...don't do that. Use Campden tablets.