Mead is generally not a fast drink to make, not only will the alcohol heat be worse for the first while, but it takes many months for all the yeast suspended in the mead to drop out - generally you will have to rack off the sediment a couple times before it's ready to drink. That yeast in suspension will make it taste less than great, and even if it looks clear after one or two months, it ain't!
Some meads are able to be drunk at a few months old, but they will be mere shadows of what they should really taste like, given proper aging. I find most of my meads have a turning point around 3 or 4 months when they go from garbage to drinkable, then around 6-9 months they become half-decent, then after a year they start to turn into something you honestly wouldn't believe is the same thing you tasted months earlier.