Did I already kill my vinegar culture?

I am very, very new to vinegar making, and my research so far has solely composed of google searches, so I worry I may have botched my first attempt at vinegar making from the get go.

I am on day 5 of attempting to make my first vinegar from a diluted whiskey, using Bragg’s cider vinegar as a mother donor to get started. So far my vinegar still remains clear, with the donor mother settled on the bottom, and the only acidity I smell is from the vinegar added in to get started. I understand it is still far too early to know if this is going to successfully ferment or not, but I worry that my process may have already killed the mother.

My process, in details: 1. Dilute whiskey (49.5% ABV) with filtered water down to reduce to 10% ABV and stir to thoroughly combine in a jar. 2. Add 20% of the total dilution’s volume in Bragg’s honey apple cider vinegar containing mother and stir again. 3. Cover with a single layer of cheesecloth tied over the lid, store in dim area away from direct sunlight. 4. After 24 hours and 48 hours, swirl the jar to stir the settled mother on the bottom back into the mixture.

I worry because I later read information that I should have diluted to 5%, and that I should not have been stirring the mixture to allow a daughter culture to form on the surface. I also have heard later that Bragg’s may have been an unreliable source to use for a donor mother in the first place. Am I worrying too much or should I start over?