Whomever advised 6-12 months after bottling gave you bad info....because you really look at the whole picture, not specifically after bottling. A good rule of thumb for aging mead is 1 month of bulk aging for each % ACV--and aging starts when your mead has reached its natural final SG (at least for me). It can take 30days - 6 months, or longer, just for a mead to hit FG. But when aging you have bulk vs bottle. Some rush to bottle for various reasons, or may bottle everything at 6 months (just how they do it) and others just wait out the bulk aging process--which allows a mead to naturally degas and clear. Once bottled it is quite common to wait another 3 months so the mead can adjust to bottles (see bottle shock).
There are several quick meads, aka short meads, which you can make. JMAO, or Joe's Quick Grape Mead, apple juice/ cider + honey makes for a nice cyser. Regardless...enjoy!