Typical alcohol production in stages?

I have a question for the forums here regarding two 1/2 gal jugs of mead that I fermented.

I made 2 similar batches of mead same recipie with only one difference. (mead #2 & #3)

The recipie for 1/2 gal test batch (#2)

2 lbs mixed clover honey
1.6 oz cherry flavoring added to the must before primary fermentation
1/2 tsp acid blend
1/2 pkg Pasteur Champagne yeast
1/2 tsp. yeat nutrient

and the second batch (#3) was exactly the same except I did not add the cherry flavoring, which I plan to do after fermentation is done.

the hydrometer readings before fermentation for #2 was 1.130 with a Alcohol potential of 17.25 % roughly. Which I got from reading the Potential scale on the hydrometer. And #3 1.104 @ 14%

Primary fermentation for both samples lasted for 6 days at which I added airlocks. 9 days later I checked the hydrometer readings and for #2 it was 1.074 with a potential of 9.75% which I assume means the current ALC is around 7.5%
#3 was at 1.010 @1.25% which I assume means ALC is around 12.75 %

My actual question regarding this is, what is a "normal" amount of alcohol to be produced in such a short time? This is one of my many meads I've started, but I haven't actually been able to bottle or finish any of it yet, so I lack experience in what I should see as normal. It just makes me wonder when almost the exact same recipies in the same amount of time differ so much in alcohol production in the total of only 15 days.

Don't mind the long post, but I would appreciate some replies from some experienced meadmakers

It takes energy to pull the sugar into the yeast cells , so they can ferment them. The higher the osmotic pressure the more energy it takes and the slower the ferment's start. Alcohol is toxic and even though the yeast can handle the ABV, not all of the cells will make it, slowing the finish. All else being equal, a lower OG with ferment faster and finish faster. Both are doing fine.

I'm a little surprised at the difference in OG. Honey does vary in sugar content, but that's extreme. A better approach might have been to mix everything except the cherry in one jug and then split it.