'Quickly' in this case means usually very drinkable in about 90 days. Drinkable essentially as soon as it clears. It does tend to finish a bit too sweet for my taste, but it is invariably a crowd pleaser, since it is what mead is "expected" to be by those who haven't tasted much mead before. It will be sweet, but not as cloying as Chaucer's... :icon_puke_l: 17 lbs of honey is
only a gallon and a half. ;D And this recipe doesn't need anything more fancy than the bulk clover honey that you can get from Costco or Sam's Club or a similar warehouse store. BTW, 5 oranges won't look like a whole lot once they're cut up and stuffed through the narrow end of your carboy -- but expect to have to clean up the outside of the glass once you're done with the stuffing.
BTW, I was only semi-serious with my comment about hefting the 5 gallon carboy.
I wouldn't advise "shaking" the whole thing to aerate it, unless you happen to be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. But I would recommend thorough aeration at the start, because yeast need that hit of oxygen to really get going and to reproduce with flexible cell walls that support vigorous fermentation. For aerating large batches like this, if you can, mix up the honey and water in a large food grade bucket. Then whip the surface of the must with a santized wire whisk to expose as much of the must to air as possible. Then add the dry ingredients and the oranges to the carboy, and pour the aerated honey/water mixture into the carboy using a large sanitized funnel.
Note the use of "sanitized." Basically, sanitize everything that comes in contact with your must as you mix this all up.