Ok got it. It'll be well chilled by tomorrow when I get back to it... a condition that the LD Carlson DualFine Kieselsol/Chitosan actually asks for to work well... although I'm still debating if that's the best choice... but I'll take advantage of that and (this time) go with the plan of fining in the chilled carboy, rack to the bucket, let it sit for a week at room temp and give it a taste.

The net is a wunderland of info but it also became confusing and frustrating as the devil is always in the details. Lots of posts/recipes just show throwing everything together in a carboy and general magic happens... which is mostly fine... but I've had just enough college bio-chem to (be a danger to myself and others and) want to understand, control and replicate the process better. Heck, I'm already looking at the scalability of this process and possibly own a hole-in-the-wall meadery to eventually supplement my meager social security checks which would be way more fun than being a Walmart greeter when I retire. XD

I'm still learning a lot. Just adding some wine tannin to create an earthy dry tongue wine hit, Allspice for that complex, "I can taste the soil of Burgundy, man..." and fresh squeezed lemon juice to brighten all the flavors improved this concoction from tasting like Hi-C with vodka into an almost tasty wine.

So thx again for your advice. The next batch will be much better planned now that I have a better idea on what to expect. Rookie mistakes were made this first time but it's still been a tasty, buzzy and super-fun project! ;)